Recent studies have suggested that Netflix has the lowest churn in the video business, with the annual rate of customers ditching the service hovering at around 2%, according to data published earlier this year by Antenna.
So it’s not surprising to see new data from The Strategic Counsel suggesting that Netflix has remained the No. 1 “must-keep” TV brand among American consumers for a sixth consecutive year.
The most recent survey, conducted in April, asked U.S. adults to rank 83 broadcast, cable and popular streaming platforms they’d be least likely to ditch.
ABC also ranked second for a sixth straight year, while perennially high finishers Amazon Prime Video, CBS, Fox and NBC also remained a top in their respective “must watch” rankings.
Big movers included Fox News, which rose from 17 to 13, ESPN (fell from 9 to 12), and Apple TV+ (rose all the way from 26 to 16). Also, HGTV went from 36 to 18.
The Strategic Counsel has conducted the survey every year since 2007.
While Netflix and Amazon Prime Video remain among the most essential TV programming brands in America, a separate report from the Pew Research Center, also released over the long holiday week, revealed the two platforms to be the most used SVODs in America.
According to Pew’s survey of nearly 9,400 adult U.S. consumers, 72% of respondents reported using Netflix and 67% said they use Prime Video.
Only 25% of respondents in Pew’s April survey said they use Apple TV+.
According to the Pew data, 55% of respondents said they only stream video now and don’t have a pay TV subscription. Conversely, only 8% said they have only an MVPD subscription and no streaming, while another 8% said they had neither streaming nor traditional linear pay TV in their home.
Meanwhile, Pew also identified still high levels of individuals sharing SVOD passwords, particularly consumers aged 18-29 — 47% of that cohort admits to cribbing the authentication on subscription streaming platforms.
Finally, as we mash up various data sources, massive global hits like Squid Game that have helped propelled Netflix to such a dominant position. And with the third and final season of that dystopian-themed, Korean-made drama dropping on Netflix back on June 27, we can now see that the show’s popularity has clearly peaked.
The graphic below, based on Netflix data, also shows the staggering amount of viewership generated by each Squid Game season in their first 28 days on Netflix.
