Media and entertainment market research
Media and entertainment research built around how people really choose
Media and entertainment market research is how streaming, TV, content and entertainment brands understand how people really choose, keep and drop what they watch and subscribe to. It spans brand and content positioning, pricing and packaging, acquisition, retention and churn, household segmentation, path to purchase and brand health. Basis runs it across the US, UK and globally.
Loyalty in entertainment can’t be taken for granted. Contracts and annual plans create some hold, a pay-TV deal can run a year or two, a cheaper upfront year ties people in, but switching is still easier than almost anywhere, and audiences move between services more freely than in any other subscription category. Attention, and the spend behind it, is always in motion.
Researching games specifically? Here’s how we approach gaming market research.
No one’s loyal to you. They’re loyal to the show.
In streaming, people are loyal to what a service does for them, not the logo on it. A big new show or a live sport might get them in, but what keeps them is a much more complex value equation: the moments it fills across the day, the week, the year. The easy watch after work, the comfort of putting Friends on again, something for the kids, a cheap night in when the cinema’s a stretch, everyone in the house finding their own thing. It’s rarely just the latest must-watch, it’s what the service is worth in a life, week in, week out.
And retention is hard-won. Even with contracts and annual deals, subscriptions are easier to leave than almost anything, and people fully intend to: in our 2026 study switching was both easy and expected, and in a cost-of-living squeeze the household culls the stack to the few that earn their place. 43% would move for a cheaper rival, and the decision is rarely one person’s, 59% say getting it right for everyone in the household matters. You’re not just acquiring subscribers. You’re holding a place in a rotation people constantly re-weigh.
So the job isn’t a louder brand. It’s understanding the whole relationship, the value and the household behind it: what wins people over, what keeps them, what drives them to churn, how the slate and the price really land, and what would bring someone back. When loyalty can’t be assumed, being worth keeping is the entire game.
What great entertainment research delivers
In a category where loyalty is fragile and switching is easy, research has to show what wins people over, what keeps them, and what quietly pushes them to churn.
We help entertainment brands:
- Understand acquisition, retention and churn: what makes people join, stay and leave
- Test pricing, packaging and tiers before you launch or reprice
- Understand the household decision, not just the individual subscriber
- Map the path to purchase and churn across web, app and store
- Build segmentations grounded in real viewing and spending behavior
- Understand how your slate, content and positioning land against rivals
- Turn insight into clear recommendations, what to actually do, marrying what viewers want and the psychology behind it with the commercial call
- Track brand health over time, consideration and the pull to switch
How an entertainment study comes together
No off-the-shelf template. We build every entertainment study around the decision in front of you, then choose the methods that answer it.
That usually means a mix. Qualitative work to get inside why people subscribe, binge, drift and cancel. Quantitative research to size audiences and segments, model pricing and tiers, and rank what really moves the choice. Organic Intelligence, our AI and big-data practice, to read the buzz, reviews and social conversation where a show or service is made or broken. Cultural and trend analysis to tell a lasting shift from a passing hit. And customer journey work, through Touchpoint 360°, to follow the path from sign-up through to churn.
AI runs through all of it, from how we read conversation at scale to how we model demand. The judgment about what it means for your brand stays human.
Media and entertainment market research FAQ
What is media and entertainment market research?
Media and entertainment market research is how streaming, TV, content and entertainment brands understand how people really choose, keep and drop what they watch and subscribe to. It covers brand and content positioning, pricing and packaging, acquisition, retention and churn, household segmentation, path to purchase and brand health. Basis runs it across the US, UK and globally.
How do people choose a streaming service?
On value more than brand. A specific show, sport or release often gets people in, but what keeps them is a broader value equation: the moments the service fills across the week, from a big premiere to comfort re-watches, the kids, or a cheap night in. It’s also often a household decision, with 59% saying getting the choice right for everyone at home matters.
What does Basis do in media and entertainment market research?
Basis works across brand and content positioning, pricing and packaging, acquisition, retention and churn, household segmentation, path-to-purchase and churn mapping, and brand health tracking, for streaming, TV, content and entertainment brands. Every project is scoped around the commercial question rather than a fixed template, from a launch or price change to reducing churn across the base.
Why do streaming subscribers cancel or switch?
Because retention is hard-won. Even with contracts and annual deals, subscriptions are among the easiest things to leave, and people churn in and out as the slate, the moment and the budget change. Price is the biggest pull, 43% would move for a cheaper rival, and in a cost-of-living squeeze households cull the stack to the few that earn their place. Basis identifies what drives acquisition, retention and churn.
How is entertainment research different from other categories?
Loyalty is unusually fragile: even with contracts, switching is easy and people move between services more than in any other subscription category. They stay for a broad value equation, not just the newest show, and it’s often a household verdict rather than a solo choice, shaped by buzz, reviews and social as much as by any campaign. Basis reads the whole relationship, the value and the household behind it, the way the choice is really made.
Can Basis research streaming, TV and content brands?
Yes. Basis works across streaming and digital subscriptions, TV and broadcast, film, music and wider content and entertainment. We look at brand and content positioning, pricing, churn, the household decision and the path to purchase, adapting the research to how each part of the category is actually chosen. For games specifically, see our gaming market research.
Which markets can Basis run media and entertainment research in?
Basis runs media and entertainment market research in the US, the UK and globally from a single team, rather than stitching together separate local suppliers. That means consistent method and comparable results across markets, with local nuance where it matters, across streaming, TV, content and entertainment brands.
Entertainment research in action
Keeping reality TV fans watching, and subscribing
A multi-stage, multi-market qualitative program since launch, decoding what drives SVOD subscription and retention. The work feeds hayu’s comms, positioning, pricing and usability across every market.
Learn more →Why entertainment teams choose Basis
We understand that in entertainment loyalty is fragile, that people stay for the value a service delivers across their week rather than the brand, and that it’s usually the household deciding, not one person. So we don’t hand over a deck and disappear. We work with your team to turn what we learn into clear recommendations, what to actually do about acquisition, retention and churn, and content, pricing and experiences worth keeping.
What we bring:
- Deep entertainment expertise across streaming, TV, content and beyond
- A decision-first approach, built around how people really choose and drop
- Fluency in churn, the household decision and the buzz that drives the category
- End-to-end capability across qual, quant, Organic Intelligence and cultural insight
- The confidence to challenge when it helps, and the focus to move fast when it counts
Be worth keeping
We help entertainment brands understand what wins people over, keeps them and drives churn, and what to do about it, so you win more than the sign-up.
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