Streamers' quest for profitability: ads vs. price hikes MediaTalk

In this episode, MediaTalk host Mike Reynolds sits down with S&P Global Market Intelligence Kagan analyst Seth Shafer, who specializes in the streaming industry. They discuss the performance of the US streaming market, including 13.3% revenue growth in 2023. This increase was driven by price hikes rather than new subscriptions, raising a questions about the sustainability of this growth rate. Thus far, operators like Netflix, Disney, Warner Brothers Discovery, Paramount and Comcast have been aggressive in raising prices to drive profitability. Despite these price increases, consumers still feel they are getting good value and have not dropped their SVOD services. To attract price-sensitive customers, some operators are exploring ad-supported tiers to generate additional revenue, though these tiers are still in the early stages. Listen in to learn how streaming services are seeking to balance lower-cost ad-supported offerings with higher-cost ad-free subscription services.