What is driving user churn in EMEA?

In the EMEA region, user churn has impacted platforms to different degrees. During the last month of 4Q2023, Apple TV+ stood out as the platform with the highest churn rate in 8 out of 14 countries analyzed. In contrast, Netflix consistently boasted the lowest churn in 12 out of 14 countries. But what is driving users to unsubscribe from some platforms while remaining loyal to others?

When EMEA users were asked about their main reasons for unsubscribing from Apple TV+, financial worries emerged as the leading cause. “Cutting down due to the financial situation” and “it was too expensive” ranked as the top two reasons for discontinuing their subscriptions. When comparing the price of Apple TV+’s and Netflix’s most basic plans these concerns become evident. In 7 out of 8 countries where pricing was a major factor for unsubscribing, Apple TV+’s cheapest plan was pricier than Netflix’s. In these countries, Apple TV+’s least expensive plan averaged USD 9.68, while Netflix’s averaged only USD 7.75. Netflix’s ad-supported plan might be serving as a remedy for user churn by providing a more affordable option for users to prevent cancellations in the region.

Beyond pricing, the limited variety in Apple TV+’s catalog also contributed to churn, highlighting the importance of content diversity in subscriber retention. Unlike Apple TV+, Netflix users mainly valued the platform for its content: the series and movies it offers, as well as its extensive library of titles. User’s perspectives are well-founded: the discrepancy in content offerings between the platforms is considerable in this region. While Netflix boasts over 11K movies and 3K series in its library, Apple TV+ has a significantly smaller catalog, with only 83 movies and 167 series available. Moreover, Netflix’s 2023 releases totaled 1209 titles, while Apple TV+’s content launches in the same year were only 5% of that amount. As far as the year goes, Netflix has already launched a total of 292 contents, while Apple TV+ only 25.

Understanding the factors driving user churn is crucial for platform providers. Addressing pricing concerns and enhancing content offerings might be a good starting point for streaming platforms to bolster subscriber loyalty in the EMEA market.

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