Is Netflix losing its grip atop the streaming mountain? Data from JustWatch reveals that Netflix appears to have lost market share in the third quarter. JustWatch estimates Netflix currently pulls in a 27% share of the U.S. streaming market, but that has markedly decreased since January, when the company’s percentage of total streaming sales in the US was well above 30%. North American growth has definitely slowed for Netflix, which added just 73,000 subscribers in Q3.
Disney+ is the second in line to the throne with 14% market share. Hulu, which is also owned by Disney, has 13%, and users can bundle the two Disney offerings together for additional savings. HBO Max has 10%. And Apple TV+ and Showtime anytime trail the pack with a respective 4% and 2%.
This data comes from “interest” in the services on the JustWatch website, so it’s not definitive, but it does suggest that increased competition is taking a toll on Netflix.
HBO Max had the strongest third-quarter growth of any of the platforms, which could be partially attributable to their strategy of releasing Warner Brother’s movies slated in 2021 directly to streaming on the same day as theaters and the third quarter release of the highly anticipated “Dune”.
Earlier this year, Amazon Prime Video lost more than 5 million HBO Max subscribers who had subscribed through the Prime platform. So HBO Max’s strong growth comes in the midst of great loss for the company. You can imagine the third quarter that HBO would have seen without the trouble of struggling to resubscribe more than 7% of their global subscriber base.
More changes to the streaming landscape are incoming. With the upcoming WarnerMedia Discovery merger, things are sure to get interesting. Will there be a unified super-app? Bundle pricing for HBO Max and discovery+? Regardless of the plan, Discovery CEO David Zaslav has said that the combined library would be “as big or bigger than Netflix.”
Increased competition is ultimately a win for the consumer as each of these services battle it out for your dollar. There’s also nothing wrong with “churning” from service to service to enjoy a different library every month.
Max
Max is a subscription video streaming service that gives access to the full HBO library, along with exclusive Max Originals. There are hubs for content from TLC, HGTV, Food Network, Discovery, TCM, Cartoon Network, Travel Channel, ID, and more. Watch hit series like “The Last of Us,” “House of the Dragon,” “Succession,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” and more. Thanks to the B/R Sports add-on, users can watch NBA, MLB, NHL, March Madness, and NASCAR events.