60 percent consumers cancel and resubscribe to services basis availability of desirable content: Report

As per a report by Accenture, the growing customer dissatisfaction has given rise to a new phenomenon: the serial churner. This group demonstrates fluctuating brand loyalty, cyclically subscribing to and unsubscribing from platforms as their content interests evolve. A significant portion, 59 percent of the respondents surveyed, belong to this group, showing a pattern of canceling and resubscribing to services in pursuit of desired content. This is a growing trend: 47 percent of consumers canceled more subscriptions in 2023 vs. 2022. 73 percent discontinued at least one service and 52 percent cancelled two or more times.

Traditional media is rapidly losing customers, experiencing a critical exodus that signals a looming danger. Consider: The survey revealed that 57 percent of consumers increased their time spent on Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD), but also 26 percent of them indicated that time on linear TV (nonsports) decreased since last year. Meanwhile, consumers increased their time spent on social media (52%), social video (52%), and video games (50%), spaces where legacy media companies have little to no footprint.

And highlighting a seismic shift in entertainment preferences, 59% of consumers said they regard user generated content as equally entertaining as traditional media, signaling a competitive upheaval in the quest for audience attention. And 58% place as much trust in the voices of independent content creators as they do inestablished news outlets.

Even established streaming providers find themselves teetering on the brink of survival. Our survey's 11 "choice scenarios" revealed a clear consumer bias in favor of social media and video platforms over both traditional and streaming media. In most scenarios, the preference for social platform-based content over SVOD services nearly doubled last year, highlighting a significant s

36% struggle to find something entertaining to watch while 52% say recommended content does not match their interests. Serial churners on a rise 60% of consumers cancelled and resubscribed to services based on the availability of desirable content 26% indicated that time on linear TV decreased since last year, while increased on social media (52%), social video (52%), and video games (50%) 54% spend at least 6 minutes or more trying to find something new to watch. Since 2021, consumers spending 10+ minutes has doubled to 30% 47% of consumers cancelled more subscriptions in 2023 vs. 2022.

59% say user-generated content as equally entertaining as traditional media, signaling a competitive upheaval in the quest for audience attention.