*

Americans now pay for an average of 2.9 streaming

subscriptions

- Forbes Home survey

*

Bernstein estimates 94% of HBO Max subscribers have

Netflix ( NFLX )

subscription

*

Streaming bundles offer better value, but overwhelm

consumers,

Mintel survey shows

*

Netflix-Warner Bros combo could give them outsized

bargaining

power, lawmakers warn

By Jaspreet Singh, Anhata Rooprai and Zaheer Kachwala

Jan 21 (Reuters) - Nick LaFleur is one of many Americans

who think a Netflix-Warner Bros tie-up might provide some relief

from "subscription fatigue."

The New York City resident has held on to a full poker hand

of streaming services - Netflix ( NFLX ), Disney+, Apple TV, HBO Max and

Paramount+ - even as ‌prices have risen steadily.

Netflix ( NFLX ) on Tuesday switched its nearly $83

billion offer for most of Warner Bros to all-cash to keep

Paramount at bay as the two compete for the company's coveted

studio and content library. If successful, ​a Netflix-Warner Bros

tie-up could bring the HBO Max streaming service under

the same umbrella as Netflix ( NFLX ).

LaFleur and others hope that might translate to smaller

bills.

"The trajectory ‍of streaming prices, whether there is a

merger or not, seems to be going up and up," said LaFleur, ⁠who

works in tech communications. "I would imagine ⁠they would not

just add the price of HBO Max to Netflix ( NFLX )... my expectation is

that I could get a discount."

Americans now pay for an average of 2.9 streaming

subscriptions despite the rising costs, which ‌now come to $552 a

year, according to a Forbes Home survey of 1,000 people

published ​in November.

As of June, most HBO Max subscribers had a Netflix ( NFLX )

subscription - 94%, in fact, according to Bernstein analysts,

while 38% of Netflix ( NFLX ) users had HBO Max. A tie-up could revive

streaming's early promise of "everything under one roof" before

studios yanked their content to launch ⁠rival services.

The downside? The deal could stifle competition and erode

HBO's reputation ‍for prestige programming that ​currently exceeds

Netflix's ( NFLX ), experts say.

"IT'S A PAIN TO MANAGE SUBSCRIPTIONS"

The proliferation of streamers has swamped consumers

with content, similar to hundreds of unwatched channels offered

by cable TV when the industry was at its peak. About 72% of U.S.

consumers said streaming bundles offer better value, while ‍63%

say they feel overwhelmed by the options, according to a Mintel

survey of nearly 2,000 people last August.

"It's a pain to manage subscriptions," said Orlando-based

Frank Weaver, who resorted to buying an app to track them and

has canceled some services because of the cost.

A report last year from industry tracker Antenna showed the

recently introduced discounted bundle of Disney+, Hulu and HBO

Max retained 80% of its subscribers after three months, stickier

than any of the standalone services.

NETFLIX FORMS THE BASIS OF VIEWING PACKAGES

For many viewers, Netflix ( NFLX ), the global streaming leader

with 325 million subscribers, forms the basis of any viewing

package.

About 78% of customers chose the ​service when building ‍a

hypothetical custom bundle, placing it ahead of Disney+,

Paramount+ and HBO Max, according to a Forrester Research survey

of more than 400 adults in the U.S., the UK and Canada published

last year.

Part of Netflix's ( NFLX ) argument in its bid for Warner Bros was

that the combination may ​lower costs for consumers and ease

regulatory fears, Reuters reported last year.

Netflix's ( NFLX ) standard plan is priced at $17.99 a month, while

HBO Max's equivalent tier costs $18.49 and Paramount+'s ad-free

Premium plan costs $13.99, according to the companies'

websites.

DOING THE OPPOSITE?

Netflix ( NFLX ) scrapped its cheapest ad-free plan, called basic, in

2023, leaving consumers with its more expensive premium and

standard plans, as well as the standard plan with ads.

The premium plan now costs $24.99 a month, up from $19.99 in

2022, while the standard ad-free plan's price has gone up by

more than $2 to $17.99 in the period.

Lawmakers have warned that the Netflix-Warner Bros combo

could give the combined firm outsized bargaining power. Experts

say this could lead to fewer choices, giving Netflix ( NFLX ) more power

to raise its rates, spend ​less on the kind of quality shows

offered by HBO, or both.

"Whether the winning bidder is Netflix ( NFLX ) or Paramount, the

worry is whether they will be positioned to pay less for

content," said Bill Baer, a visiting fellow at the Brookings

Institution and former U.S. assistant attorney general for

antitrust under President Barack Obama.

"That likely would diminish both the number and the quality

of programming and the number ‍of people willing to invest in the

creative process."