Second Measure Data Reveals Upcoming Game of Thrones Premiere Likely to Spike HBO Now Signups, but Subscriptions Plummeted Following Last Two Season Finales
Analysis Also Shows Netflix and Hulu Continue to Dominate the Streaming Video Market, and Their Subscribers Stick Around
SAN MATEO, Calif., April 8, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Second Measure, a technology company that analyzes billions of everyday purchases to answer real-time questions about consumer behavior, today released data that reveals a trend among HBO Now subscribers that is unlike those seen at most other streaming video services: A single show drives them to sign up – and cancel – their memberships.
The popular HBO series Game of Thrones returns for its final season on April 14, as will a substantial number of HBO Now subscribers who are expected to join the streaming service when the show premieres. However, these subscribers likely won't stay for long. Second Measure's analysis revealed total HBO Now members jumped by 91 percent in the U.S. during season 7, but after the finale, total subscribers fell into a decline for six consecutive months. A similar trend occurred in season 6, when Second Measure's previous analysis of HBO Now showed approximately half of the subscriber growth from Game of Thrones vanished within three months of the finale.
A single-show spike in subscribers isn't common with other streaming services that create their own content, as Second Measure's data report shows. The hit Netflix show Stranger Things, for example, didn't lead to a noticeable increase in new memberships around either season's release date. However, Second Measure's analysis did uncover one other show that comes close to Game of Thrones in its ability to drive signups.
CBS All Access' hit Star Trek: Discovery was first released in September 2017 and, during the first two months it aired, CBS All Access' U.S. subscriber base increased by 50 percent. The January 2019 release of Star Trek: Discovery season 2 helps confirm that Trekkies are driving the increase. Since the premiere, monthly new signups have been up by 82 percent over a typical month in the previous three years.
Netflix dominates among single-service subscribers, but Hulu is gaining
Neither service comes close to retaining subscribers as well as industry leaders Netflix and Hulu. Second Measure's research shows that Hulu's average six-month subscriber retention is a respectable 60 percent, while 74 percent of Netflix signups still held memberships six months later, on average.
Second Measure's data also reveals that Netflix subscribers are the most likely to keep their memberships, and they're also the most likely to be satisfied with a single streaming service. As of February 2019, 78 percent of all Netflix members were not subscribed to any of its content-creating competitors: Hulu, HBO Now, or CBS All Access (the analysis does not break out Amazon Prime Video, since it's bundled with the Prime subscription). However, at competing services, the majority of subscribers were not exclusive to a single service.
Loyalty to a single service is expected to decline as demand for streaming content continues to rise, but Hulu was the only service to improve year-over-year in exclusivity. In February 2019, 40 percent of its subscribers did not have an active membership with a competitor, up two percentage points from last year.
To read the full report, Game of Thrones premiere spikes HBO Now signups, visit Second Measure's Data Points.
About Second Measure
Second Measure is a Silicon Valley technology company and leading provider of data analytics that deliver valuable insights into consumer spending patterns and business performance. Clients use Second Measure's self-service data analytics platform to gather valuable, real-time information that helps them discover new markets, gain an advantage in financial investments, and inform their competitive strategies. Its team of technology experts works with large scale data sets, helping clients understand the complexities and nuances around consumer spending behavior and business performance to facilitate more intelligent decision making. A Y Combinator alumnus (summer 2015), the company is based in the Bay Area with an office in New York and has more than doubled in size over the past year. For more information, visit: www.secondmeasure.com.
Data Points is a research blog powered by Second Measure, transforming data into stories for those who rely on information about consumer spending behavior to achieve competitive advantage.
Tweet this:
#GameofThrones premiere likely to spike #HBO Now signups, but subscriptions historically plummet after #GOT finale says new #data report from @second_measure https://bit.ly/2uMEJQn
Second Measure contact:
[email protected]
Media contact:
Marissa Jabczenski
Spiralgroup Marketing + Public Relations
[email protected]
949.812.1450
SOURCE Second Measure
Share this article