Streaming services growing

ACCORDING TO THE latest J.D. Power TMT Insight survey, conducted in mid–December, Apple TV+ now has 14% of the US video streaming market, up significantly from 10% in the firm’s April survey. Market leader Netflix has 81% (down from 85% in April), Amazon Prime Video 65%, Hulu 56%, and Disney+ 47%. According to Kantar’s Entertainment on Demand service, however, Apple TV+ attracted only 5.9% of new subscribers in Q4 2020, while HBO Max attracted 19.2%, Amazon Prime Video 18.2%, and Hulu 13.7% of new subscribers in the quarter. More worryingly, research firm MoffettNathanson reports that 62% of Apple TV+ subscribers in Q4 said they were on a free trial, 29% of whom said they do not plan to subscribe after the free trial, and only 30% said they plan to renew at the regular price ($4.99 a month).

Disney+ announced in February that it has hit 94.9 million paid subscribers. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that, where Apple started from scratch with Apple TV+ launching on 1 November 2019, Disney has a vast back catalog of favorites. In Canada, Europe, and Australia, a Disney+ subscription is rising by about $2.50 a month but now includes much (although not all) of the more adult–focused movie and TV content available separately via Hulu in the US (starting at $5.99 a month).