Business Stream Fatigue? Americans Spent 23% Less on Streaming Services in 2024, Study Finds - The average U.S. citizen spent $42.38 per month on streaming services in 2024, down from $55.04 per month a year ago

https://www.thewrap.com/americans-spent-23-percent-less-on-streaming-services-in-2024

In 2024, the average American grew tired of dedicating so much of their budget to streaming, according to one survey.

The average U.S. citizen spent $42.38 on streaming services each month — which comes out to $508.56 over the course of a full year — according to a December report from Reviews, an internet, streaming, and mobile-focused research organization.

That represents a 23% decline from last year, when Reviews found the average American spent $55.o4 each month on services like Netflix, Disney+, and Max. Reviews’ 2024 report is based on a survey of 1,000 Americans.

What’s behind the big drop in streaming spending?

One reason, according to the report, is that 27.8% of Americans are experiencing “streaming fatigue,” which Reviews defines as “that exact feeling of being overwhelmed with the increasing number of streaming apps.” The report did not say how many of those SVOD-weary citizens ultimately ditched a subscription or two based on their fatigue.



Another potential reason Americans spent less on streaming this year is because many of them are spending more on cable and satellite. The average American spent $89.29 per month — or more than $1,000 per year — on cable/satellite in 2024, up 11% from last year. Nearly 55% of Americans have a cable or satellite subscription, according to Reviews; it is not much of a stretch to believe many of them dropped a streaming service to offset rising TV costs.

A few other takeaways from the report, which you can also see in the graphic above:

The average American has two streaming services and watches nearly four hours of content each day.

And 26.53% of Americans share at least one streaming subscription with their friends or extended family.

The decline in streaming spending comes as ad-supported streaming hit a record high in 2024. A record 43% of streaming subscriptions were ad-supported by the end of Q3, according to Antenna, a market research firm. And between July and September, 56% of new streaming subscriptions were ad-supported — indicating Americans are opting for the cheaper option, even if they have to sit through a few commercials.

---

Alternatively, it looks like normies are already getting tired of having to pay for too many apps, for the same "goyslop of the month" series. It's like the old timey "paid channels" from cable TV, back in the '90s.

Either way, it's time to set sail to the high seas.

 

[Fellen]

None of these streaming services are worth paying for when you can pirate all of it.

 

[Super-Chevy454]

None of these streaming services are worth paying for when you can pirate all of it.

And besides, showing crappy and eerie stuff like Cuties didn't help either.

 

[The Reluctant Sneeder]

None of these streaming services are worth paying for when you can pirate all of it.

the thing is, that stuff isnt even worth pirating. i haven't pirated a single thing which has been on these streaming services, not because i cant do it, but because all of it is just goyslop garbage i wouldnt waste my time with.

 

[Lidl Drip]

No shit, the whole point of them was that they didn't have ads and now they all have ads anyway. Plus all the content is spread over 50 different subscription services that all cost like $60 a month. Who the fuck has money for that with inflation being so high?

 

[Ahriman]

the thing is, that stuff isnt even worth pirating. i haven't pirated a single thing which has been on these streaming services, not because i cant do it, but because all of it is just goyslop garbage i wouldnt waste my time with.

The most recent thing that I have pirated, was the "Tulsa King" series, starring Stallone. If you are quite familiar with Sly kino and Sly over-the-top slop, then it's fairly okay.

However, an actually good short series was Prime's "The Terminal List". Based on one of Jack Carr's novels, starring /ourguy/ Chris Pratt.

Pretty short and to the point, actually bretty gud show.

 

[TowinKarz]

The balkanization of entertainment has been a net negative for the industry.

The streaming wars ended with no winners because nobody wanted "cable, but a different bill and TOS for every channel"

And, for what it's worth, nobody wanted gaming's "a game, but, a fee for every item and a fresh subscription every month" either.

Entertainment has really backed itself into a corner by not innovating it's content for almost 15 years now, and just "innovating" the means of delivery.

"Innovation" the customers didn't want, but, the line-go-uppers did. A new source of profit? FULL SPEED AHEAD!

Forget the quality of the product. Its all about those subscriptions and DLC purchases now.

Which increasingly are just artificial lines they draw around a fully functional as-is product, so they can sell it to you in pieces or charge you to cross the line to the next map....

A collapse has been coming for a long time now, and with everyone stuck at home during COVID? A lot of providers mistook the spike in people watching TV for 10 hours a day as the new normal, not a situation that couldn't possibly last....

 

[Rei is Shit.]

The average American spent $89.29 per month

A years worth of a good VPN and single big ass HD is less than two months of what the average cattle pays for streaming.

 

[Jace on ice]

Since there's only like maybe like six or seven shows I actually care about it's actually cheaper to buy the series on blue ray than it is to pay for a year of streaming.

Plus then I own them so they can't be retroactively censored by agents of globohomo for retarded reasons.

 

[DoomsdayElite]

None of these streaming services are worth paying for when you can pirate all of it.

And little of it is even worth pirating, anyway.

 

[Ahriman]

The one thing this study isn't taking into account, is Youtube. Since it's free, there's just so much variety that you could be content with just perusing teh youtoobz.

 

[Paper Machete]

The one thing this study isn't taking into account, is Youtube. Since it's free, there's just so much variety that you could be content with just perusing teh youtoobz.

There are a lot of free movies and TV shows on YouTube. Both the official play free with ads (which you can just play without ads with blockers) and some that randoms upload. A lot of them will be older or small time stuff that no one cares to go after with strikes but they're there. Pirating is of course also an option.

Streaming WAS the innovation and people liked it but then they kept trying to get ways to force it to be more and more profitable. You're ALWAYS going to hit a wall for how much a successful business can make before you start having to play dumb games to tweak things. Stocks were a mistake. Line must always go up and having to placate people who usually don't know anything about the business model because they're the shareholders is so fucking dumb and has killed more businesses now than people just not wanting a particular service. And of course if you need to downsize it's the same as DEATH.

 

[Conan]

The one thing this study isn't taking into account, is Youtube. Since it's free, there's just so much variety that you could be content with just perusing teh youtoobz.

TV cannot produce the kind of in depth content an autist on yt can. You will never see another truly good science or history show on TV because why would they spend 500,000 dollars on production, writers, and editors when some guy on yt can make 10 seasons worth of actual good, probably less pozzed content on his own, in his house, and he does it for free as a hobby.

TV cannot compete with subject hobbyists. Same goes for cooking shows. Why would I watch a 30 minute show when I can find a 5 minute video with all the bullshit cut out.

TV is no longer a monopoly for travel, cooking, history, news, etc. pretty much anything that is not a scripted show

 

[ZazietheBeast]

Simple. Its shit entertainment on top of censoring and removing the fuck out of older media. And until both of those stop, these streaming platforms can eat shit while I hand my money to Abdul and his brothers that are selling me burned CDs of popular anime.

 

[Xarpho's Return]

TV cannot produce the kind of in depth content an autist on yt can. You will never see another truly good science or history show on TV because why would they spend 500,000 dollars on production, writers, and editors when some guy on yt can make 10 seasons worth of actual good, probably less pozzed content on his own, in his house, and he does it for free as a hobby.

TV cannot compete with subject hobbyists. Same goes for cooking shows. Why would I watch a 30 minute show when I can find a 5 minute video with all the bullshit cut out.

TV is no longer a monopoly for travel, cooking, history, news, etc. pretty much anything that is not a scripted show

Yeah, but YouTube is arguably gatekept almost as much as TV is with the algorithm and I'd like to see where these "subject hobbyists" come from. Looking at cooking shows specifically (both real cooking and "spectacle") is rife with extreme faggotry and talentless bozos (those said talentless bozos can produce unintentional comedy, e.g. Cooking with Jack). You'll never have something like Good Eats or Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on YouTube. I could go on for the other examples but you get my point.

 

[C0d3]

My parents have over 4 streaming services, and they sit through commercials on services they pay for like dafuk man.

 

[The Hardest R]

I was scanning through a buddy’s Netflix account the other day and holy fuck it’s bad. Their originals are pure garbage and the stuff they have that aren’t originals are shit.

Enough people aren’t going to subscribe to a streaming service just to watch Friends or Seinfeld to make it profitable. These “streaming wars” ensures everyone loses. Like who is actually going to make Paramount Plus or Peacock their streaming service of choice? They’re better off just bundling that shit with the bigger players like Amazon Prime Video and have it as a $5 add-on.

 

[Pentex]

>Paying for streaming

Remember, the streaming war was started by that greedy cunt Bob Iger.

Very little of what has come out in the last 5 years has even been worth the effort of hoisting the black flag for except to point and laugh at it.

 

[Strange Wilderness]

At least with Amazon Prime you get free shipping as well so there's a reason to sign up for it in addition to TV shows and I don't know if they still do it but I know at one point if you used Comcast for Internet you got Peacock for free with ads, so something at least. Maybe if the companies that owned these streaming services offered more benefits to signing up for them then you'd see more people actually using them. As it stands if I'm going to get ads in my streaming service unless I pay double why pay at all? Why not use free streaming services with ads in them already like Tubi or Pluto TV?

I was scanning through a buddy’s Netflix account the other day and holy fuck it’s bad. Their originals are pure garbage and the stuff they have that aren’t originals are shit.

Enough people aren’t going to subscribe to a streaming service just to watch Friends or Seinfeld to make it profitable. These “streaming wars” ensures everyone loses. Like who is actually going to make Paramount Plus or Peacock their streaming service of choice? They’re better off just bundling that shit with the bigger players like Amazon Prime Video and have it as a $5 add-on.

I read somewhere that what people watch on these streaming services is mostly the older stuff so I can see the idea behind creating Peacock in the minds of the executives at Comcast, "Since most people watch Netflix for the Office, Seinfeld, and Friends, why not make our own service and keep all the money ourselves?". Whether that was actually profitable or if it would of been better to stick with your idea of making these shows available via add-on and sharing with Netflix and Amazon I don't know.

 

[TooManyKittens]

Between the constant rug pulls of content to a different service, episodes vanishing or being edited for modern sensibility, and ever increasing service costs for mega budget new slop without soul... Why is this shocking?

The handful of series that gain my interest I probably want to pirate to have a copy anyways. And even then I try not to get too invested in anything that isn't easily left as "ended this season ignore the last two" or already finished. Holywoods ability to fuck up a series is pretty spectacular at this point. Everyone I know is griping about recycled ideas and the lack of innovation and the lack of reasonably budgeted shows that don't take 3 years between seasons.

And that's long before accounting the fact that inflation and layoffs are eating everyone but the 1% alive. Streaming isn't a necessity and budgets are getting pretty lean if you aren't a consoomer idiot with loads of debt. I've been saying this for decades now - gutting jobs for offshoring and suppressing wages for H1b and illegal immigration will eventually mean you have a consumer base with little to no disposable income. That means line doesn't go up. Line might even go down. Workers *are* consumers - when corporations forgot that they stacked this house of cards.