Max Leads in Customer Satisfaction, but Peacock is Gaining Ground

In just about a decade, the world of streaming went from an exciting, affordable alternative to how we consume TV and movies to the big behemoth seemingly set on recreating all of the negatives of traditional TV that sent consumers flocking to streaming in the first place.

As streaming services have become increasingly ubiquitous, customer satisfaction has declined, and according to a new survey from Whip Media, even the most popular streamers are seeing substantial declines. In a survey of over 2,000 streaming consumers in the United States, Whip asked customers their thoughts on the eight major subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) platforms. The results found that for the second year in a row, Warner Bros. Discovery’s flagship streaming service Max is able to boast the highest customer satisfaction rating, even though it fell six points since 2022.

After hitting a 94% rating last year, Max fell back down to 88%, just one point ahead of Hulu and three ahead of Disney+, which fell from 88% last year, allowing its corporate sibling to take the second spot.

NBCUniversal’s Peacock saw the largest improvement moving from 68% last year to 74% in 2023. That marks an impressive 12-point improvement since 2021, but Apple TV+ has actually had the largest two-year improvement from 62% in 2021 to 81% this year. Even with its marked improvements, Peacock is still the lowest-rated major SVOD.

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The rationale that most streamers give when raising prices is that they are investing in content and user experience. according to Whip, those investments seem to be working for many of the major streamers.

“The major mid-tier services, Apple TV+, Hulu, Peacock, Prime Video and Paramount+, rose in overall satisfaction due to changes in content quality, variety, and product value,” the report said.

On the other end of the scale, Netflix is seeing its customer satisfaction fall precipitously. Just two years ago, the world’s largest streamer ranked second in terms of customer satisfaction with a 90% approval ranking. However, last year, the streamer fell to fourth (80%), and now sits in sixth (77%). Between the efforts to curb password-sharing, eliminating the cheapest ad-free tier, and the recently reported upcoming price increase, it is no surprise that customer satisfaction is waning.

Despite that fact, Netflix remains the most indispensable SVOD on the market, with 27% saying they would pick it if they were only able to subscribe to one service. Despite holding on to the No. 1 spot, Netflix’s lead is dwindling. In 2021, it was at 41%, a 14-point decline in just two years. The streaming giant also ranks first for both user experience and suggesting programming, while its high cost in relation to its competitors has it sitting dead last in terms of perceived value.

According to Whip, AppleTV+ and Peacock saw satisfaction increases in every survey category, including satisfaction, original series quality and variety, quality and variety of library, quality and variety of movies, user experience, program recommendations, platform value, likelihood to keep, and indispensability.

Earlier this week, J.D. Power released an unrelated report that included consumer satisfaction ratings for live TV streaming services. That survey indicates that YouTube TV just edged out Hulu + Live TV, meaning that Hulu came in second in both reports. It will be interesting to see if that changes when the service raises prices next month.