“Content is king” was once the streaming world’s foremost maxim, but the available data indicates value, not content, is top of mind for SVOD consumers these days.
Data from Luminate’s September Entertainment 365 survey, featured in the new Luminate Intelligence special report The Streaming Video Economy, shows this in stark relief. When U.S. streaming subscribers were polled on their motivations to sign up for a new paid subscription, “Good value for the price” was by far the most common factor cited.
The second-place answer, “A lot of different content to watch,” was cited by only 35% of those polled, versus 58% for “Good value,” the only factor selected by more than half of the survey pool.
This is not exactly shocking, considering the rampant inflation among SVOD prices of late. Streaming subscription costs in the U.S. have been rising almost continuously for the past three years, with nearly every major platform raising prices yet again in 2025.
Still, amid a now palpably worsening economy for consumers, one wonders how high streamers can push prices without subscriptions taking a significant hit. Indeed, the main factors driving consumers to cancel streaming subs are, unsurprisingly, financial.
In a global survey by Simon-Kucher, the three most frequently cited reasons were all tied to cost, with content-related factors being second most common. It’s arguable that content factors are, in a way, financial as well, as available titles are the most crucial part of an SVOD’s value proposition.
Notably, the top churn driver among these was, “There isn’t enough content to watch,” which could indicate the post-peak TV content recession is finally being felt by viewers. In fact, in Luminate’s Entertainment 365 survey (request access here), less than a fourth of respondents cited “Offers exclusive original content” as a subscription driver.
Given the pullback in output at most services, catalogs and individual titles are now likely more important to consumers than original slates, a point SVOD providers would do well to weigh when determining price increases — or holiday-season discounts.
For more on the financial factors driving the streaming business in 2025 and beyond, check out Luminate Intelligence’s special report The Streaming Video Economy.
