Sneak Preview: Teams of Rivals: Will Bundles and Indirect Sales Save Subscription-Based Streaming?
On Thursday, May 22, Alan Wolk, Co-Founder and Lead Analyst of TVREV, will moderate the Streaming Media Connect May panel “Will Bundles and Indirect Sales Save Subscription-Based Streaming?” A recent Antenna State of Subscriptions report revealed that a streaming superbundle that finds Max cohabitating with Disney+ and Hulu scored an encouraging 80% subscriber retention rate in the first 3 months after activation. Paramount+, Apple TV+, and Amazon’s Prime Video are also forming competitor alliances, and indirect subscription sales are on the rise. Are these arrangements becoming the secret to survival in a fatigued SVOD market? Are deeper reservoirs of content likely to slow churn in all cases, or are some catalogs more complementary than others? Who is leading the bundle boom, and who is profiting? Are Tier 2 services gaining a foothold in the superbundle subscription economy or being squeezed out?
Confirmed panelists include:
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Alan Wolk has established himself as one of the industry’s most influential thought leaders, especially noted for his deep understanding of the intersection of streaming and advertising. As the creator of the acronym FAST, he has been instrumental in guiding TVREV to become a pivotal resource in the media industry, navigating the transformative shift to streaming. Wolk is a sought-after writer, speaker, and consultant, and he regularly speaks about the future of television, both at conferences and to anyone who’ll listen. As a contributing writer to multiple industry news sites, Wolk has been a voice of authority, interviewed and quoted by everyone from NPR to The New York Times.
“Bundling is going to be the future of streaming for the simple reason that consumers like it. As much as the idea of maintaining separate subscriptions initially sounds appealing, people quickly lose track. So they like having all their subscriptions in one place and they like the idea that they are saving money by taking the bundle,” Wolk says.
“Future bundles will not just be for TV, but will include newspapers, audio services, gaming—any and all media-related subscriptions,” he predicts. “The most popular bundles will come from MVPDs and 5G providers who can combine them with broadband, but we can expect to see TV OEMs, streaming services like Amazon and Roku, and the big streamers themselves offering bundles, as well as white label companies like MyBundle and Bango.”
Adam Salmons leads Philo’s content acquisition and business development team, which builds and oversees Philo’s relationships with content programmers and streaming devices and platforms. Salmons and his team are responsible for expanding the amount and types of content available on Philo as well as increasing Philo subscribers through app distribution and other strategic partnerships. Prior to Philo, Salmons was Manager of Content Strategy and Acquisition at Verizon, helping to advance Verizon’s Fios TV and digital video endeavors. Salmons began his career in the media industry as a financial analyst at HBO, where he focused on financial strategy for HBO’s domestic network distribution group.
“For any bundle to be successful, it must solve a real consumer need, not just a manufactured one,” Salmons asserts. “At Philo, our focus has always been delivering exceptional value to our subscribers, and this principle guides every bundling opportunity we explore. Last year, we introduced a new package that included all of the great content subscribers were used to getting on our service plus the entire AMC+ lineup, which allowed us to expand the library available to our subscribers while still offering a great low price in a single app. By starting with the customer need in mind, we’ve been able to expand our business while keeping churn and subscriber acquisition costs in check.”
Brendan Brady serves as Director of Strategy for Antenna, the leading data and analytics provider for subscription services. In this role, Brady is responsible for the company’s marketing efforts, driving new business, and working directly with Antenna’s media and entertainment clients, including the streaming services themselves and ecosystem surrounding them. One of Antenna’s earliest hires, Brady joined the company from Endeavor, where he started out in the WME mailroom program.
“Bundling has been fundamental to the economics of traditional pay TV for decades. While still in the early stages for streaming, momentum is building,” Brady observes. “Disney’s Duo and Trio bundles, along with its recent partnership with Max, stand out as particular bright spots. Other streaming bundles have seen more limited traction so far. We’re eager to track how bundling develops, both within video and in adjacent consumer categories.”
Anastasia Pronin leads Roku’s New York-based partner growth team. With involvement throughout the entire partner life cycle, her team sets and executes growth strategies for some of the largest and most revenue-generating partners on the platform. Prior to Roku, she worked at Paramount (formerly ViacomCBS) in strategy and business development for their international division, where she focused on business planning, go-to-market strategy, market expansion, and strategic initiatives for both Paramount+ and Pluto TV. Pronin previously worked in financial communications at Brunswick Group and FTI Consulting, advising clients predominantly in the TMT sector on media relations, investor relations, and overall communications strategy related to Special Situations (e.g., M&A, IPO, corporate crisis).
Pronin said at a 2024 Streaming Media conference that “[r]eally thinking about your users and segmenting them” is important, asking, “Who’s most likely to sign up for a bundle versus a standalone product? Who’s looking at the ad-free versus ad-supported products? Carving out those niches for different users and different pathways. Ultimately, I think a lot of that calculus comes down to our content partners, and [Roku’s] here as a supporting partner and platform to launch and market those bundles.”
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