Deloitte Insights delivers proprietary research designed to help organizations turn their aspirations into action.

DELOITTE INSIGHTS

  • Home
  • Spotlight
    • Weekly Global Economic Outlook
    • Top 10 Reading Guide
    • Celebrating Earth Month
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Resilience
  • Topics
    • Strategy
    • Economy & Society
    • Operations
    • Workforce
    • Technology
  • Industries
    • Consumer
    • Energy, Resources, & Industrials
    • Financial Services
    • Government & Public Services
    • Life Sciences & Health Care
    • Technology, Media, & Telecom
  • More from Deloitte Insights
    • About
    • Deloitte Insights Magazine
    • Press Room Podcasts
Deloitte.com
Deloitte Insights logo
  • SPOTLIGHT
    • Weekly Global Economic Outlook
    • Top 10 Reading Guide
    • Celebrating Earth Month
    • Resilience
    • Artificial Intelligence
  • TOPICS
    • Strategy
    • Economy & Society
    • Operations
    • Workforce
    • Technology
  • INDUSTRIES
    • Consumer
    • Energy, Resources, & Industrials
    • Financial Services
    • Government & Public Services
    • Life Sciences & Health Care
    • Technology, Media,& Telecom
  • MORE FROM DELOITTE INSIGHTS
    • About
    • Deloitte Insights Magazine
    • Press Room Podcasts
  • Welcome!

    For personalized content and settings, go to you My Deloitte Dashboard

    Latest Insights

    In a competitive labor market for retail workers, sustainability programs could give employers an edge

    Article
     • 
    5-min read

    A framework for managing an extended and connected workforce

    Article
     • 
    2-min read

    Recommendations

    Government Trends 2023

    Article

    Navigating toward a new normal: 2023 Deloitte corporate travel study

    Article
     • 
    17-min read

    About Deloitte Insights

    About Deloitte Insights

    Deloitte Insights Magazine, Issue 31

    Magazine

    Topics for you

    • Business Strategy & Growth
    • Leadership
    • Operations
    • Marketing & Sales
    • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
    • Emerging Technologies
    • Economy

    Watch & Listen

    Dbriefs

    Stay informed on the issues impacting your business with Deloitte's live webcast series. Gain valuable insights and practical knowledge from our specialists while earning CPE credits.

    Deloitte Insights Podcasts

    Join host Tanya Ott as she interviews influential voices discussing the business trends and challenges that matter most to your business today. 

    Subscribe

    Deloitte Insights Newsletters

    Looking to stay on top of the latest news and trends? With MyDeloitte you'll never miss out on the information you need to lead. Simply link your email or social profile and select the newsletters and alerts that matter most to you.

Welcome back

Still not a member? Join My Deloitte

Should media and entertainment companies focus on female consumers to boost subscriptions?

by Jeff Loucks, Mic Locker
  • Save for later
  • Share
    • Share on Facebook
    • Share on Twitter
    • Share on Linkedin
    • Share by email
3 minute read 09 October 2020

Should media and entertainment companies focus on female consumers to boost subscriptions? Since the pandemic began, men are adding more media subscriptions— and women’s needs are changing

3 minute read 10 October 2020
  • Jeff Loucks United States
  • Mic Locker United States
  • Save for later
  • Share
    • Share on Facebook
    • Share on Twitter
    • Share on Linkedin
    • Share by email

Men have more media subscriptions than women, and COVID-19 has widened the gap. Lower costs and bundled services could help close it.

The gender gap in subscriptions has widened since COVID-19

As media and entertainment (M&E) companies battle to attract and retain customers for their subscription services, they may need to focus on the changing needs of women during COVID-19.

Learn more

Explore the Thinking Fast series library

Subscribe and never miss a charticle

Learn about Deloitte's services

Go straight to smart. Get the Deloitte Insights app

In the 14th edition of our Digital media trends survey, we found that consumers accessed an average of 12 paid media subscriptions. This average concealed a substantial gender gap: Male consumers had 14 subscriptions, compared to 10 for females.1 Men averaged one more subscription than women in four media and entertainment categories: gaming services, audiobooks, news, and magazines.

Since the onset of COVID-19, the subscription gap has widened further. Men have added more subscriptions, net of cancelations, for every major streaming category: video, music, and video games (see figure). The same is true of news subscriptions.

A deeper look into streaming video subscriptions can help reveal the differences between men and women, and the opportunity for M&E companies.

Men are more likely than women to sign up for services—and to cancel them. For example, 20 percent of men canceled a streaming video subscription during the pandemic, compared to 13 percent of women. Men are twice as likely as women (22 percent to 11 percent) to drop a streaming video service so they can subscribe to a new one. Yet while their churn rate is higher, since COVID-19, men have five streaming video services on average, while women have four.

In short, M&E companies need male consumers to stay committed, and they need more women to commit in the first place.

COVID-19 could make this task more challenging. The pandemic has affected women and their finances disproportionately.2 Forty-two percent of women in our survey said their household lost income since COVID-19, seven percentage points higher than men. Women are also experiencing higher rates of unemployment,3 and many have cut work hours to care for family members.4 And on average, women make 82 cents for every dollar earned by men.5

Perhaps for this reason, many women in our survey were cost-conscious. Seventy-six percent of women who canceled a streaming video service during COVID-19 cited cost issues6—seven percentage points higher than men who cut.

There’s another potential issue: lack of free time. Fifty-nine percent of men who added a subscription video service said they did so because they had more time to watch content. For women—many of whom have seen their childcare and home responsibilities increase since COVID-197—the number was 44 percent.

Implications for executives

M&E executives should consider the following steps to encourage women to sign up for subscriptions—and to engage with those who don’t want the commitment.

Develop tiered services. To gain female subscribers, M&E companies may need to roll out low-cost options, including more tiered services, offering subscription levels to fit a wider range of budgets and interests.

Aggregate subscriptions. All-in-one subscription services that combine streaming video, music, gaming, news, and other services can reduce both costs and “subscription fatigue”—the time and effort it takes to manage multiple services. For example, one subscription service aims to offer three pricing tiers, including one that offers live fitness classes.

Promote ad-supported options. When asked how they’d like to access a streaming video service with content they knew they wanted, 48 percent of women preferred a free ad-supported option, compared to 38 percent of men.8 Yet when it comes to actual viewership, the numbers are nearly reversed: 51 percent of men and 43 percent of women watch ad-supported streaming services such as Pluto TV. Promoting these services with women could help M&E companies increase engagement and revenue without relying on subscriptions.

Acknowledgments

Cover image by: Viktor Koen

Endnotes
    1. Kevin Westcott et al., Digital media trends survey, 14th edition, Deloitte Insights, June 23, 2020. View in article

    2. Chabeli Carrazana, “America’s first female recession,” 19th, August 2, 2020. View in article

    3. In July 2019, the unemployment rate was 3.3 percent for both females and males aged 20 and over. In July 2020, female unemployment was 10.5% and male unemployment hit 9.4%. Women experienced higher unemployment than men in the previous three months. View in article

    4. Caitlyn Collins et al., “COVID-19 and the gender gap in work hours,” Gender, Work & Organization, June 27, 2020. View in article

    5. Comparison of median full-time, year-round female employees with male counterparts. See Sonam Sheth, “7 charts that show the glaring gap between men’s and women’s salaries in the US,” Business Insider, August 26, 2020. View in article

    6. This included the end or a free trial or the expense of a service. View in article

    7. Francesca Donner, “How women are being squeezed by the pandemic,” New York Times, May 20, 2020. View in article

    8. Jeff Loucks, Mark Casey, and Craig Wigginton, Ad-supported video: Will the United States follow Asia’s lead?, Deloitte Insights, December 9, 2019. View in article

Show moreShow less

Topics in this article

Technology, Media & Telecommunications , Technology , Media & Entertainment

Technology, Media & Telecommunications

Deloitte’s Technology, Media & Telecommunications (TMT) industry practice brings together one of the world’s largest group of specialists respected for helping shape many of the world’s most recognized TMT brands—and helping those brands thrive in a digital world. 

Learn more
Get in touch
Contact
  • Kevin Westcott
  • Principal, US Telecom, Media & Entertainment lead
  • Deloitte Consulting LLP
  • kewestcott@deloitte.com
  • +1 213 553 1714

Download Subscribe

Related content

img Trending

The window for AI competitive advantage is narrowing

Article 3 years ago
img Trending

Increasingly, video streaming doesn’t mean ad-free

Article
img Trending

Data management barriers to AI success

Article 3 years ago
img Trending

Can 5G unleash next-generation digital experiences in the home?

Article 3 years ago

More from the Thinking Fast charticle series

  • Will gaming keep growing when the lockdowns end? Article3 years ago
  • The most valued technology gadgets of the last decade Article3 years ago
  • Can tech companies reach older consumers during the pandemic? Article3 years ago
  • How streaming is changing the music industry Article3 years ago
  • Why organizations are moving to the cloud Article3 years ago
  • The changing face of North America’s tech ecosystem Article3 years ago
Jeff Loucks

Jeff Loucks

Executive Director

Jeff Loucks is the executive director of Deloitte's Center for Technology, Media & Telecommunications, Deloitte Services LP. In his role, he conducts research and writes on topics that help companies capitalize on technological change. An award-winning thought leader in digital business model transformation, Jeff is especially interested in the strategies organizations use to adapt to accelerating change. Jeff’s academic background complements his technology expertise. Jeff has a Bachelor of Arts in political science from The Ohio State University, and a Master of Arts and PhD in political science from the University of Toronto.

  • jloucks@deloitte.com
  • +1 614 477 0407
Mic Locker

Mic Locker

TMT National Managing Principal | Deloitte Consulting LLP

Mic is the National managing principal for Deloitte Consulting’s US Technology, Media & Telecom (TMT) Industry practice. She has more than 20 years of experience leading organizations through transformational changes ranging from business model design, operating model redesign and capability alignment, process reinvention, operational cost reduction, and new business/product launches.

  • miclocker@deloitte.com
  • +1 212 618 4973

Share article highlights

See something interesting? Simply select text and choose how to share it:

Email a customized link that shows your highlighted text.
Copy a customized link that shows your highlighted text.
Copy your highlighted text.

Should media and entertainment companies focus on female consumers to boost subscriptions? has been saved

Should media and entertainment companies focus on female consumers to boost subscriptions? has been removed

An Article Titled Should media and entertainment companies focus on female consumers to boost subscriptions? already exists in Saved items

Invalid special characters found 
Forgot password

To stay logged in, change your functional cookie settings.

OR

Social login not available on Microsoft Edge browser at this time.

Connect Accounts

Connect your social accounts

This is the first time you have logged in with a social network.

You have previously logged in with a different account. To link your accounts, please re-authenticate.

Log in with an existing social network:

To connect with your existing account, please enter your password:

OR

Log in with an existing site account:

To connect with your existing account, please enter your password:

Forgot password

Subscribe

to receive more business insights, analysis, and perspectives from Deloitte Insights
✓ Link copied to clipboard

Deloitte Insights delivers proprietary research designed to help organizations turn their aspirations into action.

Deloitte Insights

  • Home
  • Topics
  • Industries
  • About Deloitte Insights

Spotlight

  • Weekly Global Economic Outlook
  • Top 10 Reading Guide
  • Celebrating Earth Month
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Resilience
Deloitte logo

Learn about Deloitte’s offerings, people, and culture as a global provider of audit, assurance, consulting, financial advisory, risk advisory, tax, and related services.

  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy
  • Privacy Shield
  • Cookies
  • Legal Information for Job Seekers
  • Labor Condition Applications
  • Do Not Sell My Personal Information