Streaming services are seeing an increase in their subscription cycle, new data shows

The practice of pausing and resuming streaming subscriptions is becoming more common among US consumers, according to new data from subscription analytics firm Antenna.

The average monthly percentage of premium video streaming subscribers who reactivated their canceled services within 12 months reached 34.2% in the first nine months of 2024, up from 29.8% in 2022.

This cycling behavior affects how unsubscribe, or churn, rates should be interpreted. While the average U.S. customer cancellation rate for premium streaming services hit 5.2 percent in August, the adjusted rate drops to 3.5 percent when returning subscribers are taken into account.

Between September 2023 and August 2024, premium video streaming services recorded approximately 169 million new subscriptions. Of these, 57 million, or 34%, came from customers rejoining services they had previously canceled in the past year.

The data shows different patterns of resubscribing across platforms. Max reported that 31% of its US customers subscribed more than once, the highest rate among premium streaming services. Apple TV+ followed, with 29% of US customers having multiple subscription periods as of 2020.

According to Antenna’s analysis, Netflix maintains the highest percentage of single subscription customers who have not canceled since 2020.

The trend reflects evolving consumer behavior as households manage multiple streaming subscriptions. Some viewers maintain year-round subscriptions to certain services, while browsing others based on content releases.

Streaming services respond to this behavior with various retention strategies. Hulu offers subscription break options of up to three months via a drop-down menu. Netflix offers similar pause capabilities. Disney+ plans to introduce a subscription pause feature, according to a source familiar with the company’s plans.

Data suggests that sports programming and big-budget series influence resubscription patterns. Services with significant sports content, such as Paramount+ and Peacock, show higher rates for customers with multiple subscriptions.

The findings indicate that traditional churn metrics may need adjustments to accurately reflect customer retention in the streaming market. While cancellations remain a key concern in the industry, the frequency of resubscriptions suggests that many cancellations are temporary rather than permanent losses.

Antena calculates the net rate by subtracting renewals from cancellations in a given month and dividing by the total number of subscribers in the previous month. This method provides an alternative to standard churn calculations that do not take returning customers into account.