The average number of streaming services per household increased to four in December 2020, compared to three in April 2020, according to a new report from J.D. Power.
Further illustrating the shift: The number of households subscribing to one, two or three services declined between April and December (16% versus 13%, 22% versus 18% and 22% versus 18%, respectively), but the number of households subscribing to four, five, six or more than six increased over the same time period (17% versus 16%, 11% versus 10%, 8% versus 6% and 13% versus 8%, respectively).
Average spending on streaming services increased from $38 per month in April to $47 in December according to the study, which was based on surveys of 1,745 adults in the U.S.
The top five streaming services were almost the same in December and April. In both months, the top four services were Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu and, Disney+. In April, the fifth most popular was YouTube TV. In December, however, it was beaten – albeit by a small percentage – by HBO and the new HBO Max offering.
Despite holding onto first place, Netflix is starting to feel the heat, researchers found.
“Netflix’s market share declined four percentage points since April (85%), while five of its next six-closest competitors all picked up ground,” the press release said. “Amazon Prime Video ranked second at 65% (down from 66% in April), followed by Hulu at 56% (up from 48%), Disney+ at 47% (up from 37%), YouTube TV at 20% (up from 17%), HBO/HBO Max at 22% (up from 13%) and Apple TV at 14% (up from 10%). Peacock, at 18%, had no presence in April.”
One thing Netflix has going for it, however, is that it reported the fewest problems per hour watched both in April and December.
A summary about the streaming services per household research notes two key drivers for the increase. One is increased competition from two new players – NBCUniversal’s Peacock and Time Warner’s HBO Max. The other is the general upheaval to entertainment video caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Mandalorian on Disney+ was the most watched streaming show in December, according to J.D. Power.
J.D. Power’s findings about the number of streaming services per household differed somewhat from what NPD Group found in its research on the same topic. According to NPD Group, the number of streaming services per household reached seven in December — however, that research counted both free and paid services, while the J.D. Power research appears to only have counted paid services.
Joan Engebretson contributed to this report.
