Building a flexible subscription model for streaming
Role
Senior Researcher — Generative & evaluative research
Team
UX, CX, Data, Business, Engineering
Timeline
8 weeks
THE APPROACH
Research spanned the full product lifecycle, from early discovery through concept validation and usability testing.
🔍 Understanding subscription behavior
Interviews revealed that users consume content in cycles, subscribing for specific titles and drifting away once they are finished. Three needs consistently emerged: greater control over spending, flexibility to change services, and the convenience of managing everything through a single bill.
💡 Validating the rotation model
Concept testing confirmed strong interest in a rotation-based subscription model. However, three risks emerged: switching felt unintuitive, users feared losing access mid-cycle, and the value proposition required clearer framing.
🧪 Reducing friction and uncertainty
Four rounds of usability testing helped simplify the rules, clarify system behavior, and refine communication until the experience felt predictable and easy to use.
📊 Measuring adoption potential
Large-scale surveys in the final phase confirmed that the model was not only understandable, but broadly relevant across the user base.
Key research decisions
Designing around subscription cycles
Users did not maintain long-term loyalty to individual streaming services. Instead, they subscribed for specific content and left once they felt they had extracted enough value. This behavior became the foundation of the rotation model.
Making switching feel safe
Users worried about losing access unexpectedly or making the wrong decision. The experience was designed to make switching transparent, predictable, and easy to understand.
Framing flexibility as value
The model only resonated when users clearly understood what they gained. Communication focused on flexibility, control, and reducing wasted spending rather than the mechanics of the model itself.
THE OUTCOMES
Launched in mid-2025, the model showed strong early adoption and validated the core behavioral assumptions uncovered during research.
Strong engagement with the rotation model among existing users.
Increased ARPU through subscription upgrades.
Stronger engagement with Flow as an entertainment hub.
Latest Project
