PHOENIX — Even as subscription content services go on booming, people have been forecasting a plateau.
As the likes of Netflix, Spotify, news publishers, grocery services and more attract monthly paying customers, they aren’t just causing brands to worry about a diminishing ad hole, they are also pushing some to fret about looming “subscription fatigue”.
Mark Zagorski is one who sees it coming – but he thinks the risk will keep media honest, in a state of equilibrium between ads and payments.
“Consumers can only subscribe to so many services whether it’s Prime or Netflix or Hulu or Sling, etc,” the Telaria CEO says in this video interview with Beet.TV.
“At some point, they start to wear out, and I think that drives an opportunity which we see, which is the kind of the emergence of the ad supported, over the top video network.
“Folks like Pluto and Tubi and fubo and others who are delivering out-of-the-box free over-the-top high quality linear programming. Or some variation of that type of model where you have a half ad supported, half subscription like Hulu does now.”
That mix of revenue streams has always been the strength of media over the decades – despite the more modern zealotry of some who see either model at the be-all-and-end-all.
Zagorski sees a “tipping point” of “overwhelm” coming for customers bombarded by subscription, seeking a release valve in ad-supported offerings.
This segment is part of Beet.TV’s coverage of the IAB Annual Leadership Meeting 2019, Phoenix. This series is sponsored by Telaria. Please find additional videos from the series on this page.
