Netflix may have lost subscribers in the first quarter for the first time in over a decade, but that doesn’t mean that streaming consumers still don’t consider it indispensable.
According to the annual “Must Keep TV” list released by the Solutions Research Group (SRG), Netflix remains in the top spot among essential TV brands. However, some of the streaming service’s rivals are gaining on it.
The list of “TV brands” is a mix of streaming services and traditional broadcast and cable TV networks, but half of the top 10 is made up of the relatively much younger streamers. Netflix is first, followed by ABC, CBS, Amazon Prime Video, NBC, Hulu, Fox, Disney+, HBO Max, and ESPN. The top ten, in fact, remained the same from the year before.
Some newer streaming services, however, have posted gains. Paramount+, which was ranked 37th in 2021, jumped all the way to 12th, while Peacock jumped from 29th to 16th. However, Apple TV+, which moved from the 33rd spot to 31st, was the only premium streaming service that did not find itself making a substantive move in the survey or land in the top 20.
Outside of streaming services, a number of linear network brands seem to have momentum amongst audiences as well; The CW moved up five spots to come in at No. 13 while AMC, Cartoon Network, A&E, TBS, ION, and SyFy all showed well too.
SRG’s survey — the 15th annually — was conducted in late April and included 1,400 interviews with consumers 12 years or older across the United States. Netflix also ranked in the top spot in the survey among specific demographics, including women aged 25-54, Black, Latinx, and LGBTQ2+ audiences.
While Disney as a whole only ranked 17th in the survey, the Walt Disney Co. owns Hulu, Disney+, and ESPN, all of which rank above Disney itself. Similarly, HBO Max has begun to “cannibalize” the HBO brand amongst respondents, as the cable version of the network has dropped out of the top 20, perhaps indicating that more and more prestige TV viewers prefer streaming over traditional TV.
In the past few months, many onlookers and Wall Street analysts have assumed that the sky was falling when it comes to streaming expansion, however, it is very clear that streaming is not only here to stay, but its popularity is only growing.
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.