Reuters

But to some viewers, going a week after a dramatic cliffhanger “seems like it’s old school,” said Brett Sappington, principal analyst at Parks Associates.

“For some consumers, that can be frustrating,” he said. “Expectations are just different today.”
While it started among younger viewers, binge viewing of several episodes is now common among all age groups, Sappington said.  

From the article "Want to binge watch? New streaming TV services will make you wait" by Lisa ...read more

Media research firm Magrid has found that 26% of millennials share passwords for video streaming services, while Parks Associates predicts that in 2021, $9.9 billion of pay-TV revenues and $1.2 billion of OTT revenues will be lost to credentials sharing.

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There are currently more than 200 video services that bypass cable providers and stream content directly to a TV, laptop, phone or game console. That is up from 68 services five years ago, according to market researcher Parks Associates.

From the article 'Walmart partners with MGM to boost video-on-demand service Vudu" by Nandita Bose.

Brett Sappington, director of research at Parks Associates, said price increases are a leading reason why viewers cancel subscriptions.

“Customers don’t like surprises that hurt their pocketbook,” he said.

From the article "DirecTV Now to hike prices as content fees rise across industry" by Sheila Dang.

Industry analysts say companies are missing a chance to grow revenue. An analysis by Parks Associates estimated streaming providers will lose $550 million in 2019 from password sharing.

"There has been this kind of cavalier attitude about it," Parks Associates analyst Glenn Hower said. "It hasn't been a priority."

From the article "RPT-Streaming TV apps grapple with password sharing" by Lisa Richwine and Jessica Toonkel.

The increased spending on customer service comes as Hulu is about to go head-to-head with internet channels that offer live TV from AT&T's DirecTVNow and Dish Network Corp's Sling TV.

The services have had hiccups - like shows freezing, viewers getting error messages and system crashes. Their owners also have large customer service staffs already handling calls from their traditional pay TV customers, said Brett Sappington, senior director of research at Parks Associates.

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But the trend toward live online subscriptions is expected to accelerate, which is why companies are diving in.

One of the selling points for online video providers is that it is easy to sign up. Customers can subscribe online rather than waiting for an installer to hook up cable or put a satellite dish on the roof.

Online players "are not the cable company," Parks Associates analyst Glenn Hower said. "There are no contracts, you can cancel any time. That seems to resona ...read more

Luring and keeping customers is becoming harder as the online streaming market gets more crowded and subscribers, freed from cable television's contract model, can cancel service with a click of the mouse.

The company, which plans to roll out the new live TV bundle of broadcast and cable network channels early next year, has one of the industry's highest customer defection rates at 50 percent, according to research firm Parks Associates.

From the article "Hulu Mounts Pus ...read more