HBO Max leads in free trial Google searches across America, study reveals
CSGOLuck, who conducted the study, looked at 50 popular streaming services followed by the term ‘free trial’ to uncover which are searched for the most. They also looked at which five streaming platform free trials are most searched for in each state.
Max took first place with 193,811 Google searches per month across America for “hbomax free trial.” The streaming platform, which recently rebranded following the merging of HBO Max and Discovery+, was the most in-demand free trial in 41 states, including New York, California, Texas, and Colorado. It also appeared in the top five most searched for terms across all 50 states.
Max’s ranking may be in part due to several newly announced titles, including a Max Original Harry Potter series and The Big Bang Theory spin-off. The service does not currently offer a free trial and has not since 2020.
Hulu came in a close second with 161,313 Google searches on average each month for the term “hulu free trial.” The streaming platform was the most sought-after streaming free trial in nine states, including Arkansas, Louisiana, and New Hampshire. It also appeared in every state’s top five most searched for terms.
Increased interest in Hulu could be due to the fact that they recently released the trailer for a ‘Futurama’ revival, which will premiere towards the end of July, exclusively on Hulu US. Hulu currently offers a one-month free trial to its customers.
YouTube TV took the third spot with 132,001 monthly searches for the term “youtube tv free trial.” It was also in the top five most googled searches for free trial across all 50 states. YouTube TV currently offers a 7-day free trial.
YouTube TV taking the third spot could be driven by the company’s interest in sharing as much content with the broadest audience possible. The Google-owned streaming platform is currently testing automatic AI-powered video dubbing through its research division ‘Aloud.’
Peacock took fourth place with 125,883 searches each month for the term “peacock free trial.” The streaming platform, a subsidiary of NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, is also in the top five searched for terms across every state nationwide.
The popularity of Peacock could be due to its marketing efforts to share itself as the first service with a free option for streaming. Peacock currently doesn’t offer a free trial to premium content but has a free-with-ads tier.
Netflix came in fifth place with 85,206 monthly searches for “netflix free trial.” To put that into perspective, that’s roughly 2,840 searches per day. Netflix, originally named ‘Kibble,’ appeared in the top five most searched-for free trials in 39 states, including Pennsylvania, Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio.
Netflix doesn’t currently offer its customers a free trial. However, Netflix has recently begun to cash in on the incredible talent displayed in cooking shows, with the opening of ‘NETFLIX BITES’, a pop-up restaurant in Los Angeles that will feature the talents of beloved Netflix chefs.
Sixth place went to Disney+, with Americans searching for “disney plus free trial” 60,844 times per month. The streaming platform, which only appeared in the top five search results for Connecticut, has also lost an average of 3.2 million subscribers each quarter since Q4 2022, according to Disney’s official second-quarter report released in May 2023.
A fact that Disney may be attempting to change with efforts such as hosting the international streaming of Futurama’s season 11 reboot when it’s released on July 24th. Disney+ does not currently offer any kind of free trial.
Starz placed seventh, with 60,132 monthly searches dedicated to “starz free trial” across America each month.
Starz, which rebranded to Lionsgate+ in 35 countries, appeared in three states’ top five most popular search terms, including Delaware, Georgia, and Idaho. Starz doesn’t offer a free trial currently.
In eighth place is ESPN+, with 37,425 searches for the term “espn plus free trial” each month. ESPN+ was among the top five most searched for free trials in seven states, including Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas. ESPN+ does not offer a free trial currently.
FuboTV, with 41,518 searches for “fubotv free trial,” ranked ninth, while Paramount+, with 35,954 searches for “paramount plus free trial,” ranked tenth. FuboTV offers a 7-day free trial, while Paramount+ provides a 30-day free trial.
Commenting on the findings, a spokesperson for CSGOLuck said:
“The gradual decline in subscriber numbers across various platforms hints at possible ‘streaming fatigue’ among American users.”
“With an overwhelming number of platforms each requiring a subscription fee, many customers can not afford to subscribe to several services, so instead opt for free-trials where possible, in order to watch content exclusive to a single service.”
“Many providers have caught on to the fact that customers are often canceling before the end of their free trial period, so have done away with this option altogether, in favor of an ad subsidized model for those who can’t afford to pay for the full service.”
https://csgoluck.com/
