ADDISON, Texas—Debuting with much fanfare in the fall of 2019, Disney+ and Apple TV+ have gained solid traction in the streaming video market, with both services rounding out the top five OTT platforms six months after their launch.
Parks Associates conducted a consumer survey, “Market Snapshot: Disney+ and Apple TV+,” which shows that since its launch, Disney+ has a 25% adoption rate among U.S. broadband households, putting it as the fourth most adopted streaming service. Apple TV+ has seen 10% adoption, making it fifth. The top three are the more established streaming services: Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Hulu, in that order.
Other new streaming services—HBO Max, Peacock and Quibi—were not represented in the Parks Associates report, as all of these streaming services have debuted in the last couple of months.
Additional findings from Parks Associates’ report 81% of Disney+ subscribers also subscribe to Netflix, as do 72% of Apple TV+ subscribers. Also, nearly a half of Dinsey+ subscribers have cancelled another OTT service in the last 12 months; nearly two-thirds of Apple TV+ subscribers did.
With the outbreak of COVID-19, Parks Associates also found that three in 10 broadband households have reported that their use of online video services has increased during the pandemic.
Both Disney+ and Apple TV+ have likely benefited from subscription deals provided upon launch,according to Steve Nason, research director for Parks Associates. These included a free year of Apple TV+ being available for anyone who purchased a new Apple device and with Disney offering a bundle for Disney+/Hulu/ESPN+ and a free year for unlimited or new Verizon subscribers.
As far as content, Disney+ relied on established brands like Star Wars, Marvel, Pixar and 20th Century Fox properties, while Apple TV+ originally went with original titles, though is working to add more third-party content, Nason reports.
Looking toward the future, Nason contemplates whether Disney+ has earned the status as an “essential service” for its subscribers if household budgets tighten, as very few subscribers only subscribe to Disney+. Apple TV+, on the other hand, has a higher percentage of exclusive non-Netflix subscribers, leading Nason to believe that it has a “group of dedicated subscribers.”
The survey was conducted as an online survey with more than 10,000 participants, conducted between March 8 and April 3.
The full “Market Snapshot: Disney+ and Apple TV+” report is available on Parks Associates’ website.
