Younger consumers still spend big bucks on entertainment programs, events and experience. Should that be a guide for the future... for streamers?

This comes as mainstream premium streaming pricing continues to inch up, with “churn-and-return” activity a concern -- consumers canceling their plans only to sign up again.

In the last six months, over 70% of Gen Z and Millennial consumers have seen a live event -- a music concert or festival, sporting event, comedy show or theatrical performance -- spending big money, according to a new survey from Deloitte. 

These numbers are significantly higher than for older consumers -- boomers or older consumers -- which registered a 51% and 47% score, respectively, for live events. Deloitte says this research comes from a survey of 3,554 U.S. consumers in mid-2024.

While streaming subscribers may worry about $12- or $15-a-month platform pricing, consumers -- especially young consumers -- have no trouble paying big bucks for a single live event.

Respondents who have attended a music concert in the last six months spent an average of $150 and $132 on a single ticket to a professional sporting event.

For endemic fans of music and sports the average cost can be higher -- with music fans spending between $166 and $245 compared to sports fans at $150 and $216. Deloitte says 37% of respondents are “music fans,” while 36% are sports fans.

Live entertainment producers want to go further, targeting “less casual fandoms.”

Can streaming and other video providers find a way to do the same? That may be a difficult task. 

Onscreen entertainment just doesn't have pricing power (or a viable business model) currently for a single-use piece of entertainment. Still, analysis finds those high-demand TV shows offer more value -- especially around a single, narrow-launch time period.

Popular returning TV shows -- with new TV season episodes -- and movie franchises have that.

Do you think it has crossed the mind of streaming business executives that they could offer some content on a per-show basis, as part of their monthly subscription model?  

For years, there has been a digital/streaming business that still exists for a pay-per-view basis.

Apple, which was at the start of the digital video revolution, still has this business.

Now leap ahead to what Netflix is focusing on these days -- especially when it comes to live sports, musical or other content. It has a strong interest in doing more single live events -- which it believes helps spike its overall business from time to time.

Imagine that some purveyor of premium video live events might look to expand this model -- perhaps as an add-on to its existing subscription business model.