Everything’s bigger in Texas, with Texans signing up to more subscription services than any other state and paying the highest bills.
New research from Bango reveals that Texans pay for more subscriptions than any other state, with an average of 6 per person. This means that Texans are spending $103 per month on subscription services, which comes to $1236 over the course of the year – that’s over $300 more than the national average of $924.
Despite paying the most on average, however, two thirds (66%) of Texans still reported that they are unable to afford all the subscription services they want. This is due in part to recent password sharing crackdowns and increased fees, with over half of Americans (57%) canceling a subscription due to price hikes.
These findings and more come from Bango’s latest research guide, which includes data from 5,000 US subscribers on their habits, behaviors and attitudes towards subscriptions.
Inter-state comparisons
The report found that the average American now pays $77 a month on subscriptions. A quarter of Americans pay $100 or more a month, putting the average Texan comfortably in the top 25% of the country. In addition to beating out every other state for average subscription numbers and spending, Texans pay almost double the average monthly spend of those in Oregon, where a $56 bill is the norm.
New Yorkers follow closely behind, paying $93 per month and an average of 5 subscriptions per person, while Florida is below the national average at $72 per month with 4.3 subscriptions per person. However, both states are similarly feeling the effect of price hikes, with nearly two thirds (62%) unable to afford all their desired subscription services.
Streaming preferences
As well as costs, the Bango survey also highlights the marked differences in the types of subscriptions favored in different states. While just 44% of Americans have a music subscription, Texas leads the nation at 58%, with California close behind at 52%.
Texans are also the most likely to adopt gaming subscriptions (37%) and health and fitness subscriptions (29%). Additionally, Texas leads in Sports Video on Demand (SportVOD), with a staggering 29% of respondents subscribing to at least one service such as NFL+, NBA+ or DAZN. That’s more than double the US average of just 13%.
Subscription Hubs and ‘Super Bundling’ define 2024
As a result of higher subscription numbers, many consumers are beginning to feel the effects of ‘subscription fatigue’, becoming frustrated with the lack of flexibility and increased admin.
Consequently, companies like Verizon are launching ‘Super Bundling’ subscription hubs – such as +play – which enable customers to access and manage services such as Netflix, Starz, Max, Paramount+ and more all in one place.
According to Bango’s research, this represents a welcome trend for subscribers, with 73% saying they want a single platform to manage all of their subscriptions in one place. 69% would also like the ability to pay for multiple subscriptions via one monthly bill.
When it comes to offering these all-in-one services, American subscribers are wary of a return to ‘cable TV’ style packages, with only 29% wanting their cable company to manage their subscriptions. Instead, half of subscribers (50%) say they want their cell phone provider to launch a content hub. The majority of these (61%) would even pay a higher cell phone bill to receive this service, with the average subscriber happy to pay an additional $364 per year (representing a 19% increase of their annual bill).
Paul Larbey, CEO of Bango, commented on consumers’ desire for flexibility, saying “While the subscription habits of Texans might appear to be an outlier, the fact is that they simply represent the leading edge of a huge shift in consumer behaviors around subscriptions. Subscribers want to jump between different content and services and they don’t want the admin headache of managing multiple accounts and paying multiple bills. With the rise of Super Bundling in 2024, we’re expecting to see that headache disappear. At the same time, these all-in-one platforms will help drive new revenue for cell phone providers and allow subscription services to share users rather than fighting over them. It’s a win-win scenario for businesses and subscribers alike.”
To find out more about the wider shifts in the subscription market, check out the newly released data from Bango here, or download Bango’s full Subscription Wars: Super Bundling Awakens report here.