Advanced Television

Netflix tops US SVoD services

November 18, 2015

Research firm Parks Associates has revealed the top ten subscription OTT video services based on number of subscribers, with Netflix as the top subscriber service and three of the ten services on the list focused on sports content, including the WWE, the NFL, and MLB. The research firm shows over 25 per cent of OTT video services in the US market today came out in 2015, and 40 per cent of services were launched within the last two years.

Parks Associates’ top 10 OTT services by subscriber volume are based upon reported figures and estimates from Parks Associates’ OTT Video Market Tracker using multiple consumer surveys, network traffic data, and service provider information. The top 10 list of subscription OTT video services for the US market is as follows:

  1. Netflix
  2. Amazon Video
  3. Hulu
  4. TV
  5. WWE Network
  6. HBO Now
  7. Crunchyroll
  8. NFL Game Pass
  9. The Blaze
  10. SlingTV

“The number of new services and continued growth for many existing services show the vitality of the OTT video services market in the US,” said Brett Sappington, Director, Research, Parks Associates. “While Netflix holds a substantial lead, new and emerging OTT services are establishing their own place in the market.

Sappington noted that Netflix continues to lead the US market in subscriber volume, but Hulu has escalated its efforts to bulk up the subscription side of its services with the addition of new content and an advertising-free subscription tier. After only a few months following its launch, HBO Now is sixth, while Sling TV is also in the top 10 following its launch at the beginning of 2015.

Among sports services, MLB.TV has peaked following the end of the 2015 World Series, and NFL Game Pass is going strong midway through the new NFL season. In contrast, the WWE Network is resisting the seasonality common to other sports OTT video services and continues to add subscribers.

“Importantly, the market for OTT video services is just getting started. With several offering new, original content and Internet giants like Yahoo! purchasing broadcast rights to major sporting events, more consumers will look to OTT video services in the future,” Sappington said. “The key for the industry will be to package, market, and monetize these services in ways that will drive big money and big business.”

Previously released OTT research highlights include:

  • 58 per cent of US broadband households have used at least one OTT video service in the past 30 days.
  • More than 25 per cent of households used two or more OTT video services in the past 30 days.
  • 59 per cent of US broadband households subscribe to an OTT video service subscription with a monthly fee.

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