NEW YORK—Kantar has released a new study showing the U.S. streaming market has hit a saturation point, with the household penetration rate stagnating and at near universal levels. 

Streaming services were available in 95% of, or 123 million U.S. households, only growing 0.1% quarter-on-quarter, according to Kantar’s latest Entertainment on Demand (EoD) data on the US streaming market from January to March 2024.

The study found, however, that the average number of paid services accessed per household continues to rise, with U.S. households now subscribing to 3.9 paid services on average.

Other key highlights included: 

• Apple TV+ and Peacock saw the greatest absolute growth in subscriber share over the quarter among paid VoD competitors, aided by new release films and sports.
• Prime Video was the sole VoD service to have significant declines in market share in Q1’24, as holiday growth in Q4 typically results in cancellations in Q1, and the introduction of ads boosted cancellations, the study reported. 
• “Reacher” on Prime Video was the most watched title in Q1’24 among all paid streamers (ad-free or ad-supported), followed by “NCIS”, available on a number of SVoD service, and “Yellowstone” on Peacock.
• Dramas accounted for 8 of 10 top titles watched in the past 3 months among SVoD subscribers, despite fewer streamers claiming to enjoy dramas in Q1’24 than Q1’23.
• Disney+ has dropped out of the top 5 services chosen to discover new content, dropping below Paramount+ and Peacock in Q1’23.  
• Originals and films still pay an important role in driving sign ups to VoD services. Half of all new Apple TV+ subscriptions were driven by specific titles, led by Apple TV+ originals “Ted Lasso” and “Masters of the Air”, and film “Killers of the Flower Moon”. Beyond new sign-ups, streaming originals and films faced challenges in Q1’24.
• In the first quarter of 2024, US streamers reported enjoying long-running TV dramas over originals. Prime Video’s “Reacher” and Netflix’s “The Crown”, “Griselda” and “Fool Me once” were the only originals cited as one of the top 10 most viewed titles in Q1. Instead, titles like “NCIS”, “Chicago Fire” and even “Suits” were among the top viewed titles in the first quarter.
• There is a clear pattern of dramas and crime series rising in popularity in the US. As these long-running, easily bingeable drama series gain in popularity, it is harder for streaming originals and films to compete for screen time. Looking at the top 20 most cited titles viewed in Q1, “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” are the only films to make the list.
• This shift towards single genre dominance is reflected in the number of genres US streamers report enjoying. Over time, streamers are reporting that they enjoy fewer genres. Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Thrillers, and Action & Adventure are the top 3 genres losing the interest of streamers in the last year, signaling genre fatigue of these prominent titles that fall under these genres.

The researchers also took a deeper dive into Prime Video's sub losses. They noted that Q1 is typically a quarter of increased churn for Prime Video. Increases in subscriptions around the holidays results in churn in the following months. 

This year in Q1, Prime Video also introduced ads to all subscribers. Subscribers now have the option to opt out of ads for an additional fee of $2.99 per month. After ads were introduced in January, Prime Video lost 3% of their subscriber base, a significant increase from typical Q1 churn. Subscribers reporting dissatisfaction with the amount of ads shown has nearly doubled in the last quarter.

The cyclical growth and churn model of Amazon tends to pay off for Prime Video. Despite subscribers shrinking by 3% in Q1’24, Prime Video has netted growth compared to its pre-holiday Q3’23 size. Among remaining subscribers, advocacy for Prime Video, measured by its Net Promoter Score (NPS), has risen. Prime Video’s NPS is now second only to Netflix among paid competitors. Among Prime Video subscribers with at least one additional streaming subscription, a greater proportion rank Prime Video as their #1 most important service in Q1’24 than did in Q4’23.

The U.S. streaming industry has reached the point of near saturation, with 123 million U.S. homes (95% of all homes) having at least one streaming VOD service in December of 2023, according to Kantar. 

Kantar’s latest Entertainment on Demand (EoD) data on the US streaming market provides additional evidence that video streaming is at a near total market saturation level and that players will have to focus on sub retention, providing customers more value, FAST channels and international expansion for further growth. 

The report also noted that over half of US households now use a FAST service in the average week, as FAST continues to be the fastest growing streaming type. Yet, growth of both FAST and AVOD slowed in Q4, despite the Cyber Monday deals for various AVOD streaming services offered in November, Kantar reported. 

The Kantar data also showed that Apple TV+, ESPN+, and Prime Video saw the greatest absolute growth in subscriber share over the quarter among paid VOD competitors, aided by promotions, trials, and holiday spending.

Other key findings include: 

• Perception of content improved in Q4 as the writers’ and actors’ strikes came to an end. New content and content variety drove a greater share of sign ups in Q4 compared to Q3.
• Yellowstone on Peacock was the most watched SVOD title in Q4’23, followed by Netflix’s Virgin River, and Loki on Disney+.
• The #1 go-to streaming service for content discovery continues to be Netflix, but Hulu and Max gained share as the #3 and #4 spots, respectively, in Q4.
• Value for money is seen as the most important factor driving sign up to new video streaming, for the first time surpassing specific content as the most important factor.

In the new study, the researchers stressed that noted that with near total market saturation, streaming services are finding it harder to win new users and that the major players are increasingly looking for ways to add value to their offering in order to retain their subscriber base and prevent churn. 

This means that streaming services can no longer compete on only the newest title releases, the researchers argued. They must also provide additional value to keep users engaged.

One obvious way to provide value is price. While this option has had limited value in the wake of recent price hikes, Kantar noted that streamers are also looking to password sharing and the ability to create multiple profiles as a way to create value. The ability for multiple household members to have their own profile drove a greater share of new, paid subscription in Q4 than in Q3 2023, up 13% in the quarter, Kantar reported. 

Diversifying content is another way to provide additional value, the researchers said. Increasingly services like Prime Video, Peacock, and Max are offering live content such as news and sports. Streamers have become more satisfied with both sports and live news offerings over the last six months, while at the same time become less satisfied with the variety of original content and TV series. Sports helped drive the growth of both Prime Video and ESPN+, who saw the largest jump in paid streaming market share in Q4 2023, the researchers said. 

With the Olympics in 2024, Kantar said that the market is likely to continue to see an increased interest in sports in the coming year.

Another way to provide value is via brand ecosystems or bundles of services. The ability to subscribe to another service as a channel add-on provides the convenience of saving the time it takes to switch between services, the researchers said.

Channel add-ons, such as Paramount+ on Apple TV+ or Max on Prime Video, now account for 23% of all streaming services, up from 20% in Q3 2023. Apple TV+ has benefitted from this growth. The share of video streaming services accessed as a channel on Apple TV+ has risen 45% in the last 6 months, Kantar said. 

Brand ecosystems also go beyond streaming channels, the researchers explained. Prime Video benefitted from Prime Shipping in the Amazon ecosystem in Q4 2023 with Prime Day in October, Cyber Monday in November, and holiday shopping in December. Apple TV+ benefitted from iPhone sales in the Apple ecosystem in Q4’23. 

There is also evidence that linking a streaming service to a wider ecosystem is beneficial to the streaming service’s brand health, the study found. 

When asked to rank their streaming subscriptions from the most to least important, the proportion of Prime Video and Apple TV+ subscribers who ranked each service as their #1 most important subscription in their streaming repertoire grew to their highest recorded levels in Q4 2023. One in three Prime Video subscribers say Prime Video is their #1 most important service, and one in four Apple TV+ subscribers rank Apple TV+ as their most important service, Kantar reported. 

NEW YORK—The ad intelligence and sales enablement platform MediaRadar has announced the acquisition of Kantar Group’s North American Advertising Intelligence unit, Vivvix. 

It is the first major acquisition for MediaRadar, which is backed by Thompson Street Capital Partners and Endicott Capital. 

Vivvix offers competitive advertising intelligence across both digital and traditional media channels, such as mobile apps, streaming services, and social media. 

Currently, more than 20,000 users rely on MediaRadar’s extensive database that tracks more than $200 billion of annual media spend across more than four million brands. Vivvix’s advertising intelligence footprint spans $250 billion-plus in media spend. Combining the two operations will position MediaRadar as a major source of advertising data and insights, serving the entire industry ecosystem from media owners to agencies and brands, the companies said. 

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. 

“By combining Vivvix and MediaRadar, we offer a complete view of the entire advertising industry,” said Todd Krizelman, CEO and co-founder of MediaRadar. “Together, our unparalleled market intelligence will enable strategic decision-making, allowing media sellers, brands, and agencies to navigate the dynamic advertising landscape with even greater confidence.”

More specifically, the acquisition of Vivvix, with its complementary channel coverage, bolsters MediaRadar’s data capabilities in several ways. It introduces new areas such as local TV, radio, and search, while also extending its reach into out of home advertising and the Canadian market. Unified as one platform, MediaRadar will deliver the most comprehensive near real-time advertising intelligence available, the companies said. 

“When we launched Vivvix earlier this year, our mission was to become the world’s leading ad intelligence company,” said Andrew Feigenson, CEO of Vivvix. “In joining forces with MediaRadar, we take a significant step toward that goal. We are incredibly excited to work with Todd and his team to achieve a common vision and deliver a complete view of the market to media companies, marketers, and agencies.”

“Today’s transaction brings Vivvix together with a highly complementary business that goes a long way to delivering on their vision of building the most future-facing advertising intelligence business in North America,” added Chris Jansen, chief executive, Kantar. “We’re excited about the possibilities that emerge from the combined entity and wish the Vivvix and MediaRadar team well on the next phase of their growth journey.”

MediaRadar and Vivvix are both AI-powered platforms, with AI used to track and collect advertising insights across media channels, as well as to power sales recommendations and prospecting tools. Following the Transaction, MediaRadar’s expanded resources and capital will allow it to further invest in cutting-edge data and tech capabilities, building next-gen solutions that drive maximum value for its customers and cementing its position as the industry’s analytics leader.

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett served as legal advisor and Solomon Partners served as financial advisor to MediaRadar.

Weil, Gotshal & Manges served as legal advisor and Barclays Bank PLC, acting through its Investment Bank (“Barclays”) served as financial advisor to Kantar.

LONDON—Newly released data for Q4 2021 from Kantar helps answer the question of who is winning the streaming wars as competition heats up in 2022. 

Its data showed that Amazon Prime Video and Peacock garnered the highest proportion of new streaming users in Q4 2021, with Amazon holding that the #1 position for the third quarter in a row and Peacock moving into the #2 position.

Overall Peacock had 10% of all new sign ups in Q4 2021, boosting its household penetration to 12% in Q4 2021, up from 9% in Q3 2021. 

Peacock is still heavily reliant on its ad-based tiers to bring in new users, with 56% of new users coming in through FAST, 26% through AVOD, and 15% through SVOD, Kantar said. However, paid tiers are making up a higher proportion of overall streamers, with the free ad supported TV (FAST) share declining 6% points year over year. This indicates Peacock is finding success in its strategy of bringing in new users through FAST and trading them up to ad-supported on demand (AVOD) or SVOD tiers, Kantar reported. 

The new data was less promising for Netflix, which has seen its stock hammered for slightly missing Q4 subscriber count targets. The Kantar data shows that Netflix’s subscriber base is now below two thirds of US subscribers, as its penetration declined compared to Q3 by 0.5 percentage points, despite the success of “Squid Games.” It has also seen a decline of 5 percentage points in penetration year over year, Kantar reported. 

Overall, Kantar reported that the proportion of U.S. households who have a video subscription has risen to 85% (up two percentage points compared to Q3 and up two percentage points from Q4 2020). The growth came after two consecutive quarters of decline, boosting the number of U.S. homes with a SVOD service to 109.4 million in December 2021.

Kantar reported particularly fast growth in video streaming from free advertising supported TV (FAST) and advertising-based video on demand (AVOD) services, with the FAST services up 4.9 percentage points in penetration compared to Q3 2021, AVOD up 3.6 percentage points and SVOD up 1.8 percentage points compared to Q3. 

In Q4 2021, 18% of US households used a FAST service, doubling year over year when household penetration was 8% in Q4 ‘20, Kantar reported. FAST penetration is now nearly the size of AVOD, which has a household penetration of 24%. 

Within FAST, Peacock, IMDB TV, Tubi, and Roku Channel account for the greatest share of new users in Q4 2021, collectively making up 79% of all new FAST users this quarter, Kantar reported. 

Live streaming services also grew by 0.7% points and are now present in 10% of US households, Kantar said. 

Amazon Prime Video is the #1 destination for new SVOD subscribers for the third consecutive quarter, but its share is down 4 percentage points from Q3 2021. 

Stacking also continues to grow among current streamers, with the average household now using 4.7 services on average.

The issue of churn, however, remains a big one going into 2022. 

The Kantar report noted that Q1 2022 “can expect to see more fluctuation of subscribers as stacking continues to grow and planned cancellation is up across the board.”

Average planned cancellation was up in Q4 2021 compared to Q3 2021, Kantar reported, adding that most significantly it was up for platforms that were reliant on a single title to bring in new users. 

For example, after the success of “Ted Lasso” during both Q3 and Q4 2021, 19% of Apple TV+ users say they plan to cancel their subscription in Q1 2022. 

Similarly, HBO Max, whose top content driving sign up in Q4 ’21 was Dune, has a planned cancellation rate of 7%, up 2% points from Q3. 

While Peacock is doing well in overall sign-ups, the following data focusing on SVOD services and excluding ad-supported offerings paints a different picture.

LONDON—New research from Kantar indicates that the streaming wars are about to get even hotter as the growth in new subscribers stalled in the third quarter of 2021, when Disney and others reported relatively lackluster sub growth. 

Kantar’s `Q3 Entertainment on Demand Barometer’ found that the proportion of US households who have a video subscription has dropped to 85% (down 1% points from Q2, 2021 and up a modest 2% points from a year earlier in Q3 2021). Overall, there were 109 million households with subscriptions in the U.S. as of September 2021, Kantar reported. 

The video streaming quarter on quarter penetration decline was fueled by a decline of 1.5% points in paid SVOD (Paid Ad-Free Video OnDemand) services. 

FAST (Free Ad-Supported TV) and AVOD (Paid Ad-Supported Video on Demand) performed better; 14% access FAST services (up 3% points from Q2 2021) and 21% access AVOD (up 0.8% points from Q2).

Overall, 4.5 million consumers cancelled subscriptions in Q3 2021 (including those who had multiple subscriptions and remain in the streaming category), Kantar said. But of those 4.5 million cancelled, 85%, or 3.8 million were among consumers who had only 1 subscription in Q2 2021 and no subscriptions in Q3 2021.   

Across platforms, Amazon Prime Video accounted for the bulk of penetration declines, losing 2 percentage points in penetration in one quarter. This comes after Amazon Prime Video accounted for the largest share of new subscriptions in Q2 2021, driven by Prime Day. Among the group who had one subscription in Q2 2021 and cancelled in Q3 2021, 69% had an Amazon Prime Video subscription in Q2 2021.

Kantar also reported wins for Live Pay TV (Cable TV or MVPD+) in Q3 2021, with the households with Live Pay Only (no Streaming) up to 10% in Q3 2021 (compared to 9% Q2 2021).  

Similarly households with both Live Pay TV and Streaming are up to 51% in Q3 2021, from 50% in Q2 2021. 

This jibes with reports that cord cutting slowed in Q3 2021. 

Meanwhile Streaming Only (AVOD, SVOD, or FAST) is down 2.2% points.

Despite the decline in overall streaming, stacking continues to grow among those still in the market, the Kantar data showed. 

Across total streaming, the average subscriber now has 4.2 Streaming subscriptions, up from 3.8 in Q2 2021. The more mature platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Hulu continue to hold subscribers who are less likely to stack subscriptions, and stacking growth among these consumers is slower than the total market.

That means, Kantar said, newer competitors launching into video streaming may find that competing with the mature platforms will be more of a challenge. 

NEW YORK—For the second straight quarter HBO Max has garnered the most new U.S. subscribers among the major streaming services, with the Warner Media-owned SVOD service netting a 14.4% share of all new subscribers in the first quarter of 2021, according to new data from Kantar.

Do put it broadly, superheroes have come to the rescue for HBO Max. Since HBO Max announced that “Wonder Woman 1984” and the full slate of 2021 Warner Bros. movies would premiere the same day on the streaming service as they do in theaters, HBO Max has led the field in new subscribers. This most recent quarter was boosted by the arrivals of “Zack Snyder’s Justice League,” as well as “Godzilla vs. Kong.”

Kantar says that HBO Max is also doing well in keeping its subscribers. In Q2 2020, HBO Max had a Net Promoter Score (measuring subscriber advocacy) of 10th among streamers, it now ranks second. Customers cite the new released films among the key reasons for this rise in satisfaction, per Kantar.

HBO Max held its top spot even as two new streaming platforms became available in Q1 2021, Discovery+ and Paramount+. Paramount+, which is a rebrand and expansion of CBS All Access, took 11.8% share of new subscribers, ranking third for the quarter and just ahead of Disney+ (11.6%). Discovery+ took 7.7% share of new subscribers, though Kantar points out its content is more narrowly focused.

Among the other streamers, Amazon Prime Video—which recently surpassed 200 million subscribers—ranked second in the quarter at 13.2%; Hulu had 10.6%, Netflix 8.5%, Apple TV+ 5.6% and Peacock 4.7%.

Looking at the overall rise of streaming subscriptions, Kantar says that the average number of SVOD subscriptions per U.S. household reached 3.8 at the end of Q1 2021, up from 3.3 a year ago. More than 7% of U.S. households added a new subscription in the quarter,  bringing the total number of U.S. SVOD subscriptions to 241 million.

However, the number of households planning to cancel at least one subscription in the next three months is also increasing, now at 24.9%—it was 20.5% in Q4 2020 and 23.2% a year ago.

Ad-supported streaming services are increasing in popularity as a result of the rising cost of all these subscriptions, with Peacock and Tubi leading the way. Kantar reported that nearly half (49%) or respondents don’t mind some advertising if it makes streaming services cheaper.

When it comes to what people are watching on these streaming services, Disney+ is still the leader thanks to “WandaVision” and “The Mandalorian,” which were the top two rated SVOD titles in the U.S. for Q1 2020. Netflix’s “Bridgerton” came in third.

NEW YORK—Wonder Woman saved the day for HBO Max, helping the AT&T-owned streaming service earn the most new streaming subscribers for the fourth quarter of 2020, according to Kantar’s Entertainment on Demand Service.

After a slow start to HBO Max, the decision to release Warner Bros. movies the same day in theaters and on the streaming service appears to have helped draw in new subscribers. Per Kantar, 41% of new HBO Max subscribers said specific content was their key motivating factor for signing up, with “Wonder Woman 1984” the specific title for one in five of them. In all, HBO Max brought in 19.2% of all new streaming subscribers in Q4.

Still, 2020 belonged to Disney+. There was a total of 233 million new streaming subscriptions in 2020, 18.3% of which were for Disney+. Amazon Prime Video was second with a 17% share, followed by Hulu (13.2%), Netflix (12.5%), HBO Max (12%) and Apple TV+ (6.2%).

Netflix, the largest streaming service in the market, actually saw its share of subscribers fall in Q4 2020. Following flat subscriber growth in the third quarter of 2020, Netflix accounted for just 7.4% of new subscribers, less than half of what it made up in the first quarter of 2020. Kantar says that reasons for this lack of growth includes Netflix’s content slate, its recent price increase and a controversy over the film “Cuties.” 

Hulu, meanwhile, actually bested its sister service Disney+ in Q4, earning a 13.7% share of new subscribers compared to 13% for Disney+.

The other original big three streaming service, Amazon Prime Video, has remained consistent, in large part because of the increase in online shopping, which is part of its Prime membership.

Peacock, meanwhile, had a 4.4% share of new streaming subscriptions in Q4. While also offering an ad-free plan, Peacock users are made up of 35% premium subscriber, Kantar says, with customer satisfaction reports saying that people prefer the paid subscription version of the streamer.

Overall, more than a quarter of Americans (29%) are drawn to sign up for a subscription because of specific titles. In 2020, the most recommended shows on streaming were: “Ozard,” “Tiger King,” “The Mandalorian,” “Schitt’s Creek,” “The Queen’s Gambit,” “The Crown,” “Cobra Kai,” “The Boys,” “Stranger Things” and “Outlander.”

For more information, visit Kantar’s website. 

LONDON—We are in the final days of 2019, so what does the next year hold for the media industry? According to data insight and consultancy company Kantar, 2020 will bring about a “digital paradox” in the media industry.

Based off its “2020 Media Trends & Predictions” report, Kantar the ever increasing number of digital touchpoints, marketers and media owners will find it more difficult to connect with consumers. Among the contributing factors it goes into detail on are streaming, 5G and eSports.

Just in the last month consumers were given two new streaming services, Apple TV+ and Disney+. 2020 is set to see more with the debuts of HBOMax and Peacock. Local TV players are also beginning to create their own subscription-based services. However, all of this increased competition could create subscriber fatigue.

“We predict that the future of TV in 2020 and beyond will be the continued convergence of TV, including online streaming and video, with high-quality content at its heart,” wrote Sushmita Jain of Kantar. “Consumers will continue to use advertiser-funded and subscription-based services, but the ever-increasing amount of available content and platforms will lead to a paradox of choice; more is not always better. Overwhelmed consumers will become more discerning and focus their time on services with algorithms that provide the greatest enjoyment.”

In terms of 5G, consumers and companies are excited about the possibility. There are already 10 million 5G subscribers in China, which along with other markets with 5G (as of 2019 the U.S., U.K. and South Korea) are expected to see strong growth in the coming years. The rise of 5G will offer things like improved streaming without a Wi-Fi connection and support of IoT devices.

“However, there are also challenges,” said Kantar’s Paul Cha. “More devices mean there will be even more fragmented datasets to be integrated and consolidated, in order to gain a holistic consumer view for marketers.

“While 5G brings many more opportunities for marketers, it also means significant transformation, which isn’t going to be easy.”

Other points of interest covered in Kantar’s report include the rising popularity of eSports, shopvertising, audio advertising and the upcoming 2020 elections.

Kantar’s full report is available here.

SAN JOSE, Calif.—TiVo is introducing some new capabilities to its TV Viewership Data product, announcing the optional integration of data from Kantar and Drawbridge. These new offerings are meant to provide additional insights to demographics, consumer preferences and behaviors.

The addition of Kantar ad data provides both programming viewership data as well as advertising viewership for millions of U.S. households. With the Drawbridge Identity Graph, customers can link viewership data with associated mobile ad identifiers so to extend the reach and measurement of advertisements and marketing across pay-TV, OTT and digital platforms.

“There’s no reason why TV can’t be as targetable and measurable as other platforms, and give marketers the ability to reach and report on viewership, engagement and conversion across the entire cross-channel consumer journey,” said John DeGennaro, vice president of enterprise partnerships with Drawbridge.

These new attributes are available immediately with the TV Viewership Data product.