Hub Research: Default streaming services see higher loyalty

A study by Hub Entertainment Research indicates that streaming services designated as a viewer’s “default” source—the platform they turn to first—experience significantly lower cancellation rates and higher loyalty.

According to the research, which surveyed 1,600 U.S. viewers, being a default service makes a platform two to six times more likely to be retained compared to services that are merely used. For Netflix, while only 28% of all users would keep the service if forced to choose just one, that figure rises to 62% among those who consider it their default. The disparity is even more pronounced for Disney+, where 61% of default users would keep the service alone, compared to only 10% of the general user base.

These default services tend to be long-lived, with 69% of respondents having subscribed to their default source for more than two years. This stability is attributed to users investing time in personalizing their experience through custom profiles, watchlists, and app settings. This personalization trend is particularly strong among younger viewers, with 79% of those under age 35 reporting they have made their default source “their own.”