Q&A: Recurly’s Sarah McCredie Talks Community-Building for Streaming Subscriber Retention and Churn Reduction
Churn is a fact of life in today’s crowded and ultra-competitive streaming landscape. With an abundance of content on both subscription-based and free platforms vying for viewers’ attention and time, churn can’t be eliminated, but it can be managed and even minimized. The trick is not just to attract subscribers to your platform but to keep your audience engaged, invested, and connected for the long haul. And with so much to watch, just providing great content is no longer enough.
That’s where community-building comes in. From live chat opportunities and exclusive emotes to flexible subscription tiers and fan-focused hubs, streaming services and creator platforms are exploring myriad ways to transform passive viewers into active participants whose engagement isn’t limited to the time they spend viewing the content. Extending subscriber experiences beyond the app via social media, fan conventions, and even real-world events creates a sense of belonging that turns casual fans into loyal subscribers and keeps your fans in the fold for the long haul. For today’s platforms, building thriving communities is an indispensable strategy for reducing churn, enhancing subscription value, and achieving long-term success.
Recurly is a subscription management platform built to provide streaming platforms and publishers with strategies to grow audiences and turn subscribers into loyal, longterm customers. In this Q&A with Recurly VP of Product Marketing Sarah McCredie, we explore how streaming services are building community into subscriber experiences, what types of perks and innovations and promotions engage fans most effectively, and which key KPIs help platforms identify loyal customers and nurture those relationships. We also touch on what Twitch and the gaming world, with their proven community-focused monetization models can teach OTT subscription streamers, and how flexible billing and subscription systems enable businesses to test and implement new offerings. Finally, we’ll delve into how subscription streaming platforms can leverage community-building most effectively to create more meaningful and lasting relationships with their audiences.
Steve Nathans-Kelly: Can you provide some examples of strategies streaming services or creator platforms use to build successful communities around their content?
Sarah McCredie: Successful streaming platforms know that community goes beyond delivering content—it’s about creating opportunities for fans to connect, participate, and feel recognized. Many platforms achieve this by:
- Making interaction part of the experience: Features like live chat, custom badges, and exclusive emotes let fans engage in real time and feel part of a shared culture.
- Offering flexible subscription tiers: Creators and platforms often introduce multiple membership levels, each with perks like ad-free viewing, exclusive content, or early access to new releases.
- Building franchise or interest-based hubs: By clustering content around popular series or themes, platforms create spaces where superfans can gather, access behind-the-scenes material, and join in on themed promotions.
- Extending community beyond the platform: Partnerships with live events, fan conventions, and social media campaigns strengthen the bond between fans and the brand, making the community feel larger than the app itself.
Together, these strategies turn subscribers into active participants, deepen loyalty, and create a sense of belonging that keeps fans engaged for the long term.
What can streaming services offer those communities?
A successful streaming business offers a range of perks to its community to foster loyalty. For example, video game streaming platforms offer tiered subscriptions with perks like ad-free viewing, custom badges, and exclusive emotes for fans to use during live streams. Other platforms, like video streaming, offer exclusive content, such as behind-the-scenes footage and early access to new releases, to subscribers of their higher-priced plan. Beyond content, platforms can use gamification by offering watch parties or rewarding users with badges for participating in the community. Ultimately, having a flexible subscription management system is key to implementing and testing these types of offerings.
How does Recurly help channels and brands identify their most loyal customers and maximize the value of that loyalty in the long-term?
A core capability of Recurly’s platform is helping businesses identify and nurture their most loyal customers. Platforms can gain a deeper understanding of subscriber behavior and sentiment by tracking key metrics through advanced analytics. This data helps them segment their audience and proactively engage with at-risk customers, perhaps by offering a discount or a temporary plan pause. Having a flexible billing system also makes it possible to introduce new offers, like a members-only plan, to reward and retain a highly engaged community.
Are there measurable indicators that building fan communities reduces churn?
Building strong fan communities correlates with reduced churn, and the impact can be seen in key subscription metrics. For example, platforms can track voluntary and involuntary churn to see how specific community-building efforts, like exclusive events, affect subscriber retention. By analyzing subscriber behavior and engagement over time, a company can measure whether a community is thriving. The data can provide insights into whether a subscriber is becoming more or less engaged, allowing the company to make data-driven decisions to reduce churn.
What role does data play in identifying and nurturing fan communities, and how can platforms balance that with preserving fans' privacy?
Data is crucial for creating personalized experiences and nurturing communities. By analyzing viewing habits and content discovery patterns, a platform can recommend tailored content and create more meaningful interactions. For instance, a major platform can track what a user watches to recommend shows they'll enjoy. To preserve fan privacy, platforms can utilize a secure, all-in-one system for managing subscriber data, which also helps ensure compliance with global data privacy regulations.
What can streaming platforms do to create meaningful experiences for their fan communities when it comes to subscriber lifecycle?
Creating meaningful experiences means making the entire subscriber lifecycle, from sign-up through cancellation, as seamless as possible. Platforms can do this by offering flexible plans and easy subscription changes like upgrades, downgrades, and pauses. For example, some platforms offer a variety of ways to subscribe, including partnerships with other brands, giving subscribers more choice. This level of flexibility and control helps to reduce customer friction and build goodwill, which contributes to a more positive and meaningful subscriber experience.
What are the biggest lessons streaming platforms can learn from the gaming world about building and sustaining fan communities?
The gaming world is a leader in engaging fans with flexible monetization and subscription models. For instance, the most successful live streaming platforms offer creators a variety of ways to monetize their content, including tiered subscriptions, virtual goods, and in-stream advertising. This flexibility is a huge lesson for streaming services, as it allows a brand to iterate, experiment, and adapt quickly. By having a robust platform that supports this kind of agility, a business can go to market faster with new offerings.
Are there any examples of strategies streaming platforms use that offer incentives to creators to engage directly with their fan communities?
Platforms use a wide range of pricing and promotional strategies to incentivize creators. For example, live streaming platforms offer creators various ways to earn revenue, including a percentage of subscription fees and virtual currency used for cheering during a stream. The platforms also give creators a portion of ad revenue, which further encourages engagement. The ability to easily create and manage these offers gives businesses the agility to test and implement new incentive programs.
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