Cleeng grows rev by 43% as M&E industry addresses subscriber churn

 Cleeng, the video Subscriber Retention Management™ leader, today announced it achieved a 43% revenue increase, grew its customer base to over 250, and added more than 40 new employees in 2023. Adding a dozen customers including TOD, part of beIN, and NHK WORLD-JAPAN, the company also onboarded new “Cleengers” in 15+ geographic locations. These achievements came alongside the launch of several new SaaS products that help direct-to-consumer (D2C) companies, streamers and SVOD broadcasters address the M&E industry’s biggest challenges: subscriber churn, cost optimisation, and ROI. 

Cleeng’s success stems from helping service providers manage subscribers, keeping them engaged to increase their lifetime value, as well as introducing new monetisation techniques. The company’s fast growth is a direct result of its unique approach to subscriber retention, combining its multi-tenant SaaS-based platform with retention analytics. It is the only provider with a data lake that ingests both subscriber data and third party data for decision-making which results in a 95% churn prediction accuracy, enabling customers to respond to both voluntary and involuntary churn. Designed specifically for the M&E industry, Cleeng has a broader set of offerings than any other competitor - including payments and analytics - while empowering service providers to act fast and scale with low levels of total cost of ownership (TCO). 

Growth, Growth, Growth!  

Cleeng has tripled revenues over the last 24 months, reflecting increasing demand across all product lines. In particular, the company’s unique capabilities for the sports industry have proven especially popular as sports D2C providers seek to grow and retain their subscriber base, such as Optus Sport, which used Cleeng to support streaming the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2023. 

Customers using Cleeng typically lower their churn rate by 30% in three months, increase revenues by 15% by adopting tailored pricing and upselling strategies, and can retain 25% of at-risk customers through AI churn prediction. Furthermore, customers reduce their operational support costs by up to 80% with Cleeng’s AI for predictable pricing and efficient billing capability, utilizing self-service options and AI chatbots. 

“This impressive growth says one thing: our unique Subscriber Retention Management™ proposition strongly resonates with the market in this new era of M&E austerity,” said Gilles Domartini, CEO of Cleeng. “D2C providers are very concerned, rightfully so, about maximizing ARPU and subscriber churn. They are laser-focused on improving business models, increasing customer lifetime value, growing ARPU, while better controlling costs. As a result, we are outpacing the competition today, and will continue to do so tomorrow with our growing band of ‘Cleengers’, the best and brightest in the industry.” 

Expanded Global Presence 

In 2023, Cleeng hired more than 40 new employees - Cleengers - across 15+ geographic locations, representing more than 25 different nationalities, with a diverse set of talent. The new employees bring vast streaming and broadcast expertise from the industry including experience at Brightcove, DAZN, Disney, Red Bee Media and others. 

Talent hires ranged from entry level to its leadership team. In December 2023 Cleeng appointed its first-ever CFO. Maarten Jacobs has 16+ years working with the likes of KPMG, Software AG and Syncron. Earlier in 2023, Joachim Bergman joined as COO, bringing 20 years of experience in streaming and broadcast with executive positions at Ericsson (now MediaKind) and most recently as CEO of 24i. Cleeng also added a new Chairman, Bob Gogel, a seasoned executive in leading private equity- and US-backed companies.

New product developments 

In addition to the achievements cited above, Cleeng has launched: 

• Cleeng’s Seasonal Subscription package reduces churn in the quiet period between sports seasons and is already helping rights owners boost season-to-season retention rates by up to 50%. See interactive demo here. 

• Newly integrated local payment methods for Cleeng’s Merchant, which has contributed to a 75% month-over-month increase in successful transactions in the MENA region, since November 2023. This complements existing localised support across Europe, including SOFORT and SEPA direct debits, to reduce barriers to global scale. 
• Cleeng’s newest product offering, Gift Subscriptions offers broadcasters the ability to enhance its customer acquisition strategy, boost customer retention rates and build a stronger sense of community via personalization - all resulting in increased revenues. 

What’s to come in 2024 for Cleeng 

As D2C service providers focus on scaling customer lifetime value and improving cost efficiencies, Cleeng’s strategic roadmap addresses these challenges. Plans include support for hybrid monetization models, and strengthening its already market-leading churn prediction models.