J.D. Power Reveals How Streamers are Beating Traditional Cable Brands

J.D. Power’s recent Technology, Media, and Telecom Intelligence Report, which surveyed nearly 24,000 television consumers, reveals that US viewers are increasingly more loyal to streaming brands than traditional cable providers. According to the report, cable and satellite subscribers are significantly more likely (21%) to depart for other TV service providers than streaming subscribers (12%).

Beyond this, the growing divide between cable/satellite and streaming providers is driven largely by cost (a difference of 156 points), customer care (80 points), performance reliability (64 points), and billing/payments (60 points). 

We sat down with John Sevec, Senior Vice President of Client Strategy for mTab, to get some insight into this research. He advises a variety of leading streaming brands to deliver audience insights that advise them on their strengths and weaknesses with viewers. 

Q: John, This report shows streaming brands have a growing advantage with viewers over traditional cable providers. Why is this?

John: The streaming brands have an inherent advantage over cable companies on a few levels. First, cable providers are basically content aggregators, so they try to collect as much content as possible to hopefully have something viewers want to watch. This high number of channels drives the cost up.

On the other hand, although there are a variety of streaming companies now, most of them create and own their own content. They can also strategically license other shows, and many focus on keeping their content fresh to keep viewers engaged. 

Aside from this, many streaming brands are increasingly strategic with their data to understand their audience preferences to deliver, not just the shows but also the character development and storylines that resonate with viewers. This allows them to influence audience loyalty, which is largely out of the cable providers’ hands. 

Q: Aside from the cost, the major advantage for streaming brands with subscribers is ‘customer care,’ can you explain what this includes? 

John: Cost is a major factor in today’s economy, however, customer care is a massive driver to develop loyalty. There are several dimensions to achieving high customer care for the leading streaming brands. For instance, the convenience of subscribing and unsubscribing instantly from a streaming service can’t be overstated.

In the end, the old adage “content is king” still reigns true. Beyond ease of use and reliability, having shows that people want to watch and become connected with drives affinity, loyalty, and, eventually, evangelism. When brands analyze the viewing data on an on-going basis and craft their content to the audience, this is where shows become hits and streaming brands are elevated to “must see TV.

Q: Where do you think it goes for the television industry from here?

John: The streaming industry is fragmented, so this issue will eventually work itself out with acquisitions and partnerships. However, mTab is working with streaming clients to overlay proprietary and third-party data to provide more robust audience insights that will deliver more granular viewer segmentations and deeper sentiment analysis. These insights are already used across streaming companies by executives, producers, writers, and marketers to understand how to craft, develop, and promote shows, stories, and characters. Simply put, these insights will continue to serve as the foundation to build programming and the backbone to drive audience loyalty. To learn more about how mTab partners with streaming and entertainment leaders visit mTab's Media & Entertainment page or contact us at info@mtab.com.