Jason Sudeikis headlines Apple TV+ original comedy “Ted Lasso”
By ERIK GRUENWEDEL
Source: www.mediaplaynews.com, July 2023
Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, and Discovery+ saw the fastest growth in subscriber share in the second quarter, ended June 30, according to new data from U.K. research firm Kantar.
The company’s Worldpanel’s Entertainment on Demand study on the U.S. streaming market from April through June found that 4% of U.S. households used a new streaming service in the second quarter of the year, down from 6% the previous quarter, but in line with seasonal trends.
The Apple TV+ market share gain was driven in part by the success of original soccer comedy “Ted Lasso,” which was the most watched SVOD title in June, followed by “Manifest” on Netflix and “Yellowstone” on Peacock.
Separately, Kantar found that Netflix subscription cancellations in the United States increased to 5% from 4% of its total domestic subscription base due to new implemented password sharing restrictions.
From April to June, 116 million U.S. households operated at least one VOD streaming service, representing 90% of all households.
For the past three years, Q2 has been a period of slower SVOD sub growth than Q1, according to Kantar, which attributed the slowdown to a dearth of new releases. Going forward, the impact of the ongoing labor strikes in Hollywood are casting doubt on the industry’s performance in the coming months and year. Although streaming services, in the short-term, appear to be on schedule with release dates, many anticipated titles are already slated to be pushed back to 2024.
Content is king in video streaming, playing an important role in subscriber acquisitions. A third of all new streaming services used in Q2 were driven by specific content, according to Kantar. Without new content, subscriber disuse rises. The study found that 18% of streamers who don’t use a streaming service at least weekly are disengaged because there’s not enough new TV or film content. About 20% of respondents said they are disengaged because they have too many subscriptions.
“When new releases are put on hold or postponed, we can expect increased competition, a challenging environment to win new subscribers, and an increase in churn as streamers evaluate their spending and the value they receive from streaming,” read the blog post.
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In May, Netflix rolled out its password sharing crackdown in the United States, which contributed to its Q2 earnings and growth of subscriber numbers. This strategy had little impact on their total number of viewers, while instead turning non-paying viewers into paying subs. In the month since the crackdown, fewer Netflix subscribers claimed they were using an account that someone else paid for, according to Kantar.
The report notes that Netflix is likely safeguarded from exceptionally high churn from the password-sharing crackdown due to its reputation for content. Even with all the competition in streaming, Netflix is still the top destination when streamers are looking to find a new series or film to watch. About 34% of streamers choose Netflix when looking for a new series or film, followed by 13% who choose Prime Video.
“For services looking to replicate Netflix’s strategy, it will be critical to understand how streamers rate and rank their service to properly analyze the risk in taking a similar step,” read the blog post. “Netflix has unique strengths that prevented churn, but not every service would see similar results.”
