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The Oscars earlier this month highlighted the growing prominence of streaming services for live events. Unfortunately for Hulu, that spotlight turned out to be a negative one with viewers attempting to watch the show on the platform running into multiple issues. As streaming services are poised to take on showing more live events (mostly in sports), just how common are issues with broadcasts on these platforms?
Recent CivicScience data indicate that issues such as broadcast disruptions, sudden drops in quality, or a failure to load are quite common—roughly two-thirds of those who watched live events on streaming services over the past year said they’d had some sort of issue with the broadcast. This includes more than a quarter (28%) who report they’ve encountered issues ‘more than twice.’
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Despite this apparent commonality of broadcast issues for streaming platforms, additional data indicate consumers are still open to subscribing to watch live events. Just over one-third of U.S. adult respondents say they’re at least ‘somewhat’ likely to subscribe to a video streaming service specifically to watch live events (like sports or award shows) this year – 1 in 10 of whom are ‘very’ likely to do so. This is overwhelmingly driven by younger consumers, but even 15% of those aged 55+ are at least ‘somewhat’ likely to add a new video streaming subscription for this purpose.
Sixty-eight percent of those who say they’re likely to pick up a new streaming subscription for live events have encountered a broadcast issue at least once. However, necessity may outweigh tolerance for these incidents as sports leagues lean further into showing games exclusively on these streaming platforms, rather than on cable/satellite TV broadcasts.
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While some consumers have intent to add new subscriptions for live events this year, they may be doing so at the expense of other subscriptions—streaming or otherwise—amid a climate of economic uncertainty and pessimism. In fact, 57% of those likely to subscribe to a video streaming service for live events say they have canceled at least one subscription, whether a streaming service, magazine, gym membership, or otherwise. This also comes at a time when 46% of U.S. adults overall reported canceling or downgrading a subscription to manage their expenses in early March.
As a further warning sign for the streaming industry, the once-rapid trend of cord-cutting from traditional cable and satellite TV is beginning to slow. So far this year, 61% of those who pay for TV in some capacity say they have cut the cord in favor of streaming services. While this marks an increase from 56% in 2023, growth has largely stalled, rising by just a single percentage point from 2024.
Use this Data: CivicScience clients use data like this to help them identify underlying actions of their customers driving customer behavior shifts that could impact retention and growth.
While technical issues remain a challenge for streaming platforms, the bigger hurdle may be consumers’ tightening budgets and shifting priorities. As economic pressures lead many to cut back on subscriptions, the growth of streaming for live events could hinge less on fixing broadcast reliability and more on proving its value in an increasingly crowded and cost-conscious market.
