As the industry still reels from the shockwaves of Netflix’s drop in addition in its last financial quarter, a study from Hub Entertainment Research is warning that the levelling of the SVOD leader’s growth is more an indication of the health of streaming than any decline.
The analyst stressed that despite the shock results, it should not be forgotten that Netflix was still a behemoth and that a loss of 200,000 subscribers, and even the forecast of 2 million more, represented a rounding error for a company with 220 million customers.
Furthermore, it emphasised that the underlying shift to streaming over the last decade was not slowing down. Indeed, Hub argued that if anything, growth was speeding up. Its data showed that in 2018, the average viewer used three different TV sources and that the period of 2019 through to 2021 saw the launch of huge platforms like Disney + and HBO Max, not to mention a global pandemic. This said Hub created a perfect storm that drove that number to more than seven sources.
It added that all of these platforms are now compelled to compete for a pool of disposable time the same size as in 2018. As licensing deals with Netflix expire, the big players are saving their best content for their own platforms. This diffusion said Hub means growth will be a bigger challenge for all platforms as subscribers churn in and out, following their must-see shows. The research found that a third of players intend to add a new subscription in the next six months, up from 21% at the same time a year ago.
“Streaming continues to grow. But there are more companies than ever competing for their share,” commented Jon Giegengack, Hub Entertainment ResearchEntertainment Research founder and principal. “Hanging onto new viewers after the show they subscribed to watch is over will be providers’ most important challenge in the future.”
Furthermore, it emphasised that the underlying shift to streaming over the last decade was not slowing down. Indeed, Hub argued that if anything, growth was speeding up. Its data showed that in 2018, the average viewer used three different TV sources and that the period of 2019 through to 2021 saw the launch of huge platforms like Disney + and HBO Max, not to mention a global pandemic. This said Hub created a perfect storm that drove that number to more than seven sources.
It added that all of these platforms are now compelled to compete for a pool of disposable time the same size as in 2018. As licensing deals with Netflix expire, the big players are saving their best content for their own platforms. This diffusion said Hub means growth will be a bigger challenge for all platforms as subscribers churn in and out, following their must-see shows. The research found that a third of players intend to add a new subscription in the next six months, up from 21% at the same time a year ago.
“Streaming continues to grow. But there are more companies than ever competing for their share,” commented Jon Giegengack, Hub Entertainment ResearchEntertainment Research founder and principal. “Hanging onto new viewers after the show they subscribed to watch is over will be providers’ most important challenge in the future.”
