A British research company may have discovered a magic number for American media consumers 鈥� and it's seven.
That's seven streaming services, paid or free, that consumers are willing to subscribe to before the hassle of keeping track of log-ins and passwords just becomes too much, said Maria Rua Aguete, senior research director at the London-based media consultancy OMDIA.
For the past few years, OMDIA has been monitoring the average number of streaming services that online homes subscribe to, and it rose steadily from around 5 to 7.23 in the United States last November. But the latest survey, completed in April, showed that number had dropped to 7.06.
鈥淚t's not that people want to watch less,鈥� Rua Aguete said. 鈥淏ut people don't like to keep so many streaming services and log-ins.鈥�
If true, if seven is indeed the number where many consumers will draw the line, that has enormous business implications. It increases the importance of aggregators, or services where people can seamlessly collect their services, and make it harder for new companies to get into the business. It can also be the impetus for big business deals, like last month's announced merger between Discovery and WarnerMedia.
That's also a boost to the established companies. Netflix is the most popular paid streaming service, with 57% of online households in the U.S. subscribing to it. Amazon Prime, Hulu, Disney+ and HBO Max are the other leaders, OMDIA said. YouTube is tops among free services.
Meanwhile, in broadcast television last week, NBC's 鈥淎merica's Got Talent鈥� was the most popular program.
ABC was the most-watched network in prime time, averaging 3.1 million viewers. CBS had 2.9 million viewers, NBC had 2.7 million, Fox had 2 million, Univision had 1.3 million, Ion Television had 980,000 and Telemundo had 910,000.
TNT led the cable networks with an average of 2.13 million viewers. Fox News Channel had 2.12 million, ESPN had 2.1 million, MSNBC had 1.33 million and HGTV had 1.18 million.
ABC's 鈥淲orld News Tonight鈥� led the evening news ratings race, averaging 7.6 million viewers last week. The 鈥淣BC Nightly News鈥� had 6.1 million and the 鈥淐BS Evening News鈥� had 4.8 million.
For the week of June 7-13, the most popular prime time programs, their networks and viewerships:
1. 鈥淎merica's Got Talent,鈥� NBC, 7.22 million.
2. 鈥�60 Minutes,鈥� CBS, 6.51 million.
3. 鈥淐elebrity Family Feud,鈥� ABC, 4.84 million.
4. NBA Playoffs: Phoenix at Denver (Sunday), TNT, 4.22 million.
5. NBA Playoffs: Utah at L.A. Clippers (Saturday), ABC, 4.11 million.
6. 鈥淣ew Amsterdam,鈥� NBC, 4.1 million.
7. NBA Playoffs: L.A. Clippers at Utah (Thursday), ESPN, 4.07 million.
8. 鈥淣CIS,鈥� CBS, 4 million.
9. 鈥淭he Good Doctor,鈥� ABC, 3.99 million.
10. NBA Playoffs: Phoenix at Denver (Friday), ESPN, 3.96 million.
11. 鈥淯nited States of Al,鈥� CBS, 3.92 million.
12. 鈥淎merica's Funniest Home Videos,鈥� ABC, 3.87 million.
13. 鈥淵oung Sheldon,鈥� CBS, 3.84 million.
14. NBA Playoffs: Brooklyn at Milwaukee (Thursday), ESPN, 3.79 million.
15. 鈥淭he Bachelorette,鈥� ABC, 3.77 million.
16. NBA Playoffs: Denver at Phoenix (Monday), TNT, 3.69 million.
17. 鈥淭he Chase,鈥� ABC, 3.66 million.
18. NBA Playoffs: Atlanta at Philadelphia, (Tuesday), TNT, 3.628 million.
19. NBA Playoffs: L.A. Clippers at Utah (Tuesday), TNT, 3.626 million.
20. 鈥淭he Neighborhood,鈥� CBS, 3.621 million.
David Bauder, The Associated Press
