A Streamflation-era answer — a Platform Owner SVOD model delivers a 51% six-month survival rate, beating the U.S. Premium SVOD average and reframing the next phase of streaming competition.
Roku's low-cost, ad-free streaming service Howdy, launched in August 2025 at $2.99 a month, has surpassed 1 million subscribers in just eight months. Its 6-month retention rate of 51% beats the U.S. Premium SVOD average of 47% — directly refuting launch-time skepticism and challenging the conventional wisdom that low-cost SVODs cannot survive in the U.S. streaming market.
