Netflix is #1. But #2 is Gaining Fast
Netflix is #1. But #2 is Gaining Fast
The scorecard's big surprise is HBO Max in my new quarterly streaming rankings
Now that I’m back from my metaphorical trip to Asia last week (check out my brief thoughts on that vital growth battlefield for American companies and this podcast from my colleagues), it’s time to check back in on the domestic streaming wars. We’re already three-quarters of the way through the calendar year (cue clichéd joke on time having no meaning post-Covid), so, as I did in June, I’m ranking all of the streamers on a variety of metrics.
Why spend time on this project each quarter? Because I don’t trust my gut. I trust data. And the best data to use is… all of it. This is a “poll of polls” if you will, about the now 13 majors and mini-majors in streaming. Like Nate Silver for elections, I am hovering all the data but for streaming.
It is broken into three sections with supporting material:
Content & Viewership
Subscribers
Overall value/other estimates
At the end, I’ll declare the winners. Reminder, these are U.S. numbers only.
Netflix is number one! Duh! But how big is that lead? Is it growing or shrinking? Is it only a matter when, not if, someone catches up? And which streamer is second? Yeah, I kind of hint at it in the headline. But just how did HBO Max end up a second-place silver medalist?
In this edition, you’ll learn…
Just how much HBO has benefitted from House of the Dragon
Who’s winning in originals and library
Why I’m still worried about Netflix’s churn rate
How advertising is changing ARPU (average revenue per user) for the players