Bring back the bundle! Even as Americans continue to cut the cord on cable- and satellite-based TV network packages, a new Nielsen survey finds that 64% of U.S. consumers wish there was a service to bundle their existing streaming accounts — so long as they can choose which ones to include.
And if you ever find yourself overloaded with choices when it comes to streaming content, you’re not alone. About 46% of streaming users say that they feel overwhelmed by the amount of video content available to them across a growing number of platforms.
In the company first State of Play report on Wednesday, Nielsen reported a nearly 20% increase in unique programming across streaming platforms in the past three years. As of February, consumers now have over 817,000 unique program titles to choose from — compared to around 646,000 in December 2019. According to Nielsen, consumers say the rapidly increasing number of options “makes it more difficult to find the content they’re looking for.”
The uptick in available content also corresponded with a rise in consumption. Nearly 20% of Americans are now paying for four streaming services, up from 7% in 2019. As of February, streaming content made up close to 29% of consumers’ total TV viewing time, which beats broadcast viewing by about 3%.
Last year alone, Americans watched nearly 15 million years’ worth of streaming content, Nielsen reported.
It doesn’t seem like consumers plan on slowing down any time soon, either. According to the report, 93% indicated that over the next year they didn’t plan to make changes to their existing subscriptions, or they actually planned to increase them.
“The inaugural State of Play really underscores the fact that we’ve entered the next phase of streaming, based on the trends we have been detailing about streaming over the past few years,” Brian Fuhrer, SVP, Product Strategy, Nielsen, said in a statement. “We’ve moved from infancy into adolescence, and all the complexities that one would expect at that point. It’s not just that streaming is increasing year over year. Now consumers want access simplified and the explosion of services has renewed discussions around bundling and aggregation. Ultimately, these challenges signal an opportunity as the industry harnesses streaming for long-term business growth.”
