Survey: 80% of Customers for Other Streamers also Subscribe to Netflix; What Overlap Means for Disney+, HBO Max
In the all-out content assault that has exemplified the early years of the streaming wars, it has not been uncommon for consumers to stack large numbers of streaming services on top of each other in order to maximize the amount of films and series that they have access to. A recent report indicates that the average U.S. household uses nearly 10 individual streaming services, marking a nearly full-service increase over the first two quarters of the year.
However, what began as an arms race has devolved into a squabble over leftovers among the various services. The streaming market has reached maturity, meaning that there are very few new customers left for streamers to entice, especially domestically. Rather, they must try and convince customers who are already signed up for a service to also subscribe to theirs.
New data from MoffettNathanson and HarrisX show that Netflix is still the most successful streamer in making that argument, with over 80% of Disney+ and ESPN+ customers also subscribing to Netflix. Prime Video and Hulu subscribers also overlap with Netflix at a rate close to 80%.
Netflix has an original content library that Disney and Amazon simply cannot match, at least in terms of volumes, which may explain why so many of their customers are also Netflix users. The secondary service that most Netflix users gravitate toward is Prime Video, which could indicate that Amazon is able to fill in gaps in Netflix’s offerings, be that with series, movies, or live sports; Prime Video became the exclusive home of “Thursday Night Football this year, and as of yet, Netflix does not carry any live sports rights.
MoffettNathanson’s data also had interesting implications for Warner Bros. Discovery streamers HBO Max and discovery+. The survey found that while over half of HBO Max subscribers also used discovery+, only 20% of discovery+ subscribers are also signed up for HBO Max.
That could be a problem for WBD, which is planning to unite them into one platform in 2023. Doing so will hopefully maximize both services, but WBD apparently has a long way to go to convince customers to cross between services and utilize both content libraries.
Beyond the inherent differences in content on the platforms, the stark difference in price points is probably a big factor driving that divide. The most expensive tier of discovery+ is $6.99 per month, while the most expensive tier of HBO Max is more than twice as expensive at $14.99 per month. Indeed, the most likely customers to subscribe to HBO Max as a secondary service were already signed up for services that cost less, like Apple TV+. This indicates that perhaps those customers thought they could only justify one subscription that cost more than $10 per month.
One final nugget of data from MoffettNathanson’s numbers is the power and the limitations of the Disney Bundle. The best news for Disney is that the bundle is driving Disney+ subscribers toward ESPN+ at a rate of 76%. It shows that customers are open to paying a little bit for the sports content offered by ESPN+, especially if it’s already been included in their streaming bundle price. But it also shows that ESPN+ is viewed primarily as an add-on service, not a powerful standalone streamer.
The overall conclusion that must be drawn from the data on service overlap is that Netflix is still the monarch of the streaming world. It garners an overlap rate of over 75% from every other major service and is the only streamer that can claim that kind of success. Netflix’s powerful content library, combined with its brand recognition, has kept customers loyal at a rate no other streamer can claim.
Netflix
Netflix is a subscription video streaming service that includes on-demand access to 3,000+ movies, 2,000+ TV Shows, and Netflix Originals like Stranger Things, Squid Game, The Crown, Tiger King, and Bridgerton. They are constantly adding new shows and movies. Some of their Academy Award-winning exclusives include Roma, Marriage Story, Mank, and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.