Beyond the Big Three, TV Time and UTA IQ’s new report about the streaming world, indicates Disney+ and Apple TV+ are the two most anticipated new platforms to come, while they won’t necessarily be a threat to existing ones like Netflix or Amazon. All the insights, up next.
TV Time along with UTA IQ, UTA’s data and analytics group, conducted a study titled Beyond the Big Three to understand consumer sentiment surrounding the new streaming media landscape during the current period of disruption.
The study focused on awareness, purchase intent, and the features and offerings that drive, or slow, consumer adoption. Overall, a substantial number of consumers intend to add one (42%) or two (20%) new streaming services.
Additionally, most people (70%) believe that there will be too many streaming choices and 87% worry it will become too expensive to keep up. After cost, the biggest frustrations are the need to toggle between services (67%), account setup and management (58%), and the inability to find content easily (45%).
Still, people are willing to accept some form of ad-supported model (44%) compared to a subscription-only model (56%) if advertisement alleviate service cost.
Consumers value library content more than originals. Almost all respondents (90%) characterized it as “important” or “very important.” This compares to 68% who shared the same feeling about originals.
The study also focused on brand awareness of the new streaming services: Disney+ and Apple TV+ had the highest levels of awareness (88% and 63% respectively) among the upcoming services, followed by HBO Max (37%) and NBCU’s Peacock (28%).
Families (57%) are no more or less likely to subscribe to Disney+ than households without children (55%), illustrating the strength of Disney’s adult franchises.
Consumers are attracted to most of Disney’s library franchises with Marvel (77%) and Pixar (71%) ranking the highest. The Mandalorian followed by Marvel’s Falcon & Winter Soldier, WandaVision, Loki, Hawkeye, What if? and She-Hulk are among the most anticipated Disney+ original shows.
Interestingly, the intent to subscribe to AppleTV+ increased by ten percentage points when respondents were told about the type of content and talent involved.
“In a television landscape that is experiencing such intense disruption, we are seeking to better understand how consumer preferences and attitudes play into it,” said Joe Kessler and David Herrin of UTA IQ.
“It is indeed the Golden Age of Television, in that there are more great shows being made, more competition for eyeballs and ultimately, greater demand for creative talent, than ever before. Research like this helps us look beyond the horizon and make more informed decisions as we work together to navigate these monumental shifts in the marketplace.”
While the study found that Disney+ is currently best positioned for success, it does not appear that the platform will pose a major threat to existing services, as a majority of respondents (70%) indicated they were not “likely” or “very likely” to drop a current service if they subscribed to Disney+.
“While Disney+ appears well-positioned to succeed internationally, it may require additional focus in strategic markets to encourage people to subscribe,” said Alex von Krogh, Vice President of TV Time. It will be important to track how people engage with their programming from a global perspective and how that compares to competitors in those markets.”
