TORONTO – One in three Canadians have cancelled at least one subscription to a streaming platform in the last six months, according to new data from Angus Reid, which further shows 8% of them have cancelled more than one.
A report posted on the institute’s website today says Canadians are making hard choices about what streaming services to keep as subscription costs increase and the platforms threaten to crack down on password sharing.
Canadians in households with lower incomes have been more likely to drop streaming subscriptions they pay for with 12% of those with a household income of less than $25,000 cancelling multiple subscriptions compared to 5% of those with a household income of $150,000 to $199,000. (Please see chart above.)
For at least half of those cancelling subscriptions, the decision to do so has been made “in direct response to a persistent and ongoing cost of living crisis roiling households,” the report says.
Other reasons include they were not watching the service (39%), “there wasn’t anything to watch” (24%) or a show they did watch was removed from the service (15%). “Almost one-in-ten (8%) cut a streaming service because they feel like there isn’t any difference between them,” the report explains.
Despite this, viewing trends are working in favour of streamers with over 85% of people saying they have at least one subscription to a streaming service, up from around half in 2016, according to the report. Furthermore, nearly 17% of Canadians have at least four subscriptions to streaming platforms.
“Conversely, as Canadians continue to move toward the on-demand model, just three-in-five now say they subscribe to cable or satellite TV. This represents a five-point drop from 2018 and a 27-point drop over the past decade,” the report explains.
Age makes a difference in whether Canadians are subscribing to cable and satellite. For those over age 54, 82% still subscribe compared to only 41% of those 18-34.
Among those who continue to subscribe to cable and satellite, 77% say their bill is too expensive.
Angus Reid also looked at landline use, finding the percentage of Canadians who have a landline fell from 79% in 2013 to now 36%. Of those who still have a landline, 39% say it makes them feel safer in an emergency, 38% say they still receive calls from friends and family on it and 38% say they will likely or definitely get rid of it in the future.
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Chart borrowed from the Angus Reid report.
