If five streaming video services is the limit for most consumers, then which of the major platforms stand to lose out? AppleTV+, it could be you, if a new survey is to be believed.
That’s partly because while original content scores highly across the board — and that includes AppleTV+ — it is quantity, not just quality, that counts.
None of the current top five — ranked in a new survey from Whip Media as Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, Disney+ and HBO Max — should be complacent.
“Staying in that group will depend on having an abundance of both compelling original content and evergreen library content to satisfy users when certain originals inevitably decline in popularity,” the company reported after polling almost 4,000 users of its TV Time app in the US.
“Given the importance of library content to the consumer, all of the platforms should be on the hunt for evergreen shows and films to ensure they maintain market share while creating their next original hit.”
Among the key findings was that while streaming was fundamentally popular, 70% of respondents felt that there were too many subscription services on the market. The primary reasons for this were cost, annoyance at switching back and forth between services to view content, and difficulties in managing the services and choices. When asked if they could only keep one streaming service, 41% of consumers said Netflix would be their choice if they could only keep one; followed by Hulu (21%), HBO Max (13%), Disney+ (9%), and Amazon (6%).
Churn is inevitable, but the top four services are pretty similar in terms of respondents’ strong intentions to keep them, per the report.
That includes Amazon Prime Video, despite the fact that user satisfaction for the service is not as high as the others. This likely indicates that Amazon subscribers are as if not more interested in accessing rapid shopping deliveries than blockbuster content. The purchase of the MGM library should help maintain its competitiveness, Whip Media notes.
READ MORE: State of the Streaming Wars in 2021: It’s Netflix vs HBO Max vs Everyone Else (Whip Media)
Apple TV+ is in the most precarious position, the survey suggests. That backs up a MoffettNathanson survey in January that found 62% of Apple TV+ subscribers reporting that they are on a promotional offer, many of which are approaching their expiration and leading to churn.
“Given the importance consumers place on having an adequate library, it’s clear Apple’s deficiency in this area is limiting its appeal.”
Among the remaining services, Paramount+ and Peacock are currently the most intriguing among the challengers, Whip Media finds.
“They have the libraries to compete with the big boys, and a few originals, but they need more and are planning to make them.”
Discovery+ occupies a narrower niche with lower production cost programming, and is less expensive than the others’ ad-free tiers, so it may not need to be in the top five, the company states. The recent merger with Warner Media also clouds its future: Does it continue in its current form, or integrate into HBO Max?
Concluding, Whip Media, said that given the importance of library content to the consumer, all of the platforms should be on the hunt for evergreen shows and films to ensure they maintain market share while creating their next original hit.
