Kantar Highlights Shifting Streaming Market

Kantar’s Q3 Entertainment on Demand (EoD) data covering the U.S., U.K., Australia, Germany, Spain and France reveals strong subs growth for Disney+, Paramount+, Apple TV+ and Netflix, which has maintained its dominance despite increased competition.

From July to September of this year, Disney+, Paramount+, Netflix and Apple TV+ all achieved strong subscriber growth, Kantar reports. Netflix retains its dominance with a presence in two-thirds of streaming households in the markets covered. Almost half consider the streaming giant to be their primary SVOD platform, down from 53 percent last year. Half of Netflix households subscribed to four or more services last quarter, Kantar reports. One in every three new Netflix subs are opting for the ad-supported entry-level tier. A crackdown on password sharing boosted subs in the U.S. and Germany.

In the share of new paid subscribers in Q3, Disney+, Paramount+ and Apple TV+ dominate, Kantar reports. Disney+ had a strong quarter boosted by a promotional price campaign in Europe as well as Disney+ Day. Kantar says Disney+ aims to leverage password-sharing restrictions to drive further revenue growth; the research firm estimates that up to 30 percent of Disney+ subs share their accounts. To achieve gains, the platform will need “deeper connections with the more casual Disney fans” Kantar says, noting that almost two-thirds of households subscribed to Disney+ do not use the service daily. Paramount+ and Apple TV+ took the top two spots for share of new paid subscribers thanks to titles like Yellowstone and Ted Lasso. The sports lineup on both services in the U.S. is proving to be a compelling proposition. Apple TV+ ranks second to Netflix when it comes down to subscriber satisfaction with the quality of its shows.

“Whether by including live sport or more effectively promoting their existing catalog, the greatest challenge for Netflix competitors remains turning initial hero title attraction into long-term subscriptions amidst the cost-of-living crisis,” Kantar says. “The proliferation of ‘boomerang subscribers,’ who consistently rotate services that fail to capture sufficient household viewing time, is still on the rise. In an era where stacked subscriptions are prevalent, securing screen time is vital.”

At Amazon Prime, 68 percent of members use and engage with Prime Video; the lowest engagement rate is in the U.K. and the highest is in Spain. Kantar indicates growth is slowing, prompting the service to explore increased revenues from its ad-supported lineup.

“A persistent challenge faced by Prime Video users is the service’s interface,” Kantar says. “Despite substantial changes made just over a year ago, subscribers still find it less user-friendly than Netflix. With the holiday quarter now underway, Amazon will be hoping to persuade more households to invest in Prime Delivery Memberships and, in turn, drive engagement with the Prime Video service.”

Sports is emerging as a key category for several streamers; in Q3, 19 percent of new signups came from new and expanded sport catalogs. This shift to streaming is challenging the traditional pay-TV ecosystem, where penetration fell to 40 percent in Q3 from 44 percent a year ago.