This post was originally published on this site
Streaming is now king in the television industry, with traditional TV accounting for less than half of total video subscription revenue as of last year. This trend is expected to continue into 2025 as content creators and publishers jump from traditional MVPDs to their own platforms. eMarketer predicts that revenues from digital pay TV offerings will grow from 13.2% in 2025 to 15.4% in 2028, further eroding the linear ecosystem. However, the streaming ecosystem isn’t without its own issues.
While the embrace of streaming is driven by its increasing popularity, the entrance of more players is doing consumers a disservice. The average consumer pays for four streaming services, but, as prices rise, they will get more selective in their subscriptions. Churn among streaming providers was up from 4.4% in 2023 to 5% in 2024, with that number expected to grow this year.
Pricing concerns are just the beginning — consumers also face decision paralysis. With access to so many platforms, the average American spends 7.4 minutes per day choosing what to watch. This isn’t a good experience for consumers and it hurts content providers trying to keep users on their platform.
As these issues persist, it’s clear the industry has reached a point of unsustainable fragmentation. While mergers are an obvious answer, it’s hard to see Apple accepting an acquisition from Amazon. So, what’s the solution?
The most effective move would be to go back in time, where streamers create a system similar to the old television remote. Instead of siloed experiences, viewers can