{"id":4681,"date":"2023-03-27T01:00:31","date_gmt":"2023-03-27T05:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/2023\/03\/27\/how-will-the-dust-settle-in-streaming-after-2023\/"},"modified":"2023-03-27T01:00:31","modified_gmt":"2023-03-27T05:00:31","slug":"how-will-the-dust-settle-in-streaming-after-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/news\/how-will-the-dust-settle-in-streaming-after-2023\/4681\/","title":{"rendered":"How Will the Dust Settle in Streaming after 2023?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Laura Wu, Head of Strategy & Operations, Beachfront<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

It seems like every day there is a new streaming service popping up, some subscription-based, some ad-supported, and some hybrid. This begs the question: are there too many, and how will it all shake out?<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Here is what the industry might see over the next 12 months:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Bundling Reemerges.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

According to a recent survey by Ipsos and NPR<\/a>, 69% of consumers said there are too many streaming services. Over the last couple of years, nearly every media property realized they had to get into streaming to keep pace with audiences \u2014 or risk being left behind in the shift to OTT. This has led to an oversaturated market with hefty subscription fees that viewers likely can\u2019t sustain in the long run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

As a result, we\u2019ve now entered the era of bundling. Free ad-supported streaming television (or FAST) platforms are bringing cable-like channel aggregation to CTV, and have been on a meteoric rise of late. Roku and Tubi<\/a>, for example, will host a FAST channel programmed by Warner Brothers Discovery. On the subscription-side, Disney already offers bundles for Hulu, Disney+, and ESPN+. Paramount is folding Showtime<\/a> into Paramount+. And Warner Brothers Discovery will launch a new combined service<\/a> for HBO Max and Discovery+ this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Many more services have and will continue to join forces to give customers an easy, one-stop offering that fills all their viewing needs. Given that content is expensive to produce and subscription fatigue is setting in, streaming is already headed toward bundling, bringing back cable nostalgia of one bill for everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Consumers Gain More Choice.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

As the streaming ecosystem matures, it has become harder for services to continue to grow and retain customers. To remain competitive and meet consumers where they are, many services are now going through the exercise of determining and right-sizing their value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

For example, Netflix recently said<\/a> that they are evaluating multiple ad-supported tiers. This is a good indication that they’re likely trying to find the optimal approach to maximizing average revenue per user (ARPU) while balancing ad loads and subscription fees. Will they maintain just one ad-supported tier, or expand into multiple? This is just one example of how streamers are diversifying their plans and models due to the evolving landscape; others might include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n