Netflix keeps growing. Fresh off our exclusive revelation that the subscription video-on-demand service now has more paying subscribers than all of the US’ top cable TV providers, here’s another nugget, this time courtesy of comScore [download page]: Netflix hogs 40% of all OTT viewing hours in OTT households, more than YouTube (18%), Hulu (14%) and Amazon Video (7%) combined. But that’s largely due to greater penetration.
While it’s by far the leader in Wi-Fi household penetration by comScore’s count (consistent with other data, and logic…) and also has the most monthly viewing days per household (12.3), Netflix trails Hulu in one important metric: engagement.
Indeed, while Netflix (2.2 hours per household per viewing day), YouTube (2.1 hours) and Amazon Video (2 hours) are closely grouped on this metric, Hulu is quite far ahead, averaging 2.9 hours per household per viewing day.
Overall, the majority (56%) of OTT households watch only 1 (30%) or 2 (26%) apps per month, and about three-quarters stick to 3 or fewer.
As for those single-app viewers, which constitute 30% of OTT households? Half of them watch Netflix, while one-quarter watch YouTube.
In sum, roughly three-quarters (74%) of OTT homes watch Netflix. YouTube – which is relatively popular with single-app households – is the most successful at drawing what comScore calls a “Netflix free” audience, as 31% of its households don’t watch Netflix (versus 26% of all OTT households).
Interestingly, Netflix seems to capture the spotlight more on some devices than others. Compared to its 40% of total OTT time, it has an outsized influence in viewing on Blu-ray players (63% of OTT time on these devices) and on smart TVs (57%). By contrast, Roku and Google Chromecast users only devote about one-quarter (26% each) of their OTT viewing tiem to Netflix. Roku households seem to have an above-average inclination to watch Hulu and Amazon Video, while Chromecast households are drawn more to YouTube than the average.
Finally, a quick note about skinny bundles, which are quickly increasing in subscriber count: among households with skinny bundles (Sling, Playstation Vue or DirecTV Now), these bundles account for a majority (55%) of OTT viewing time, as they enjoy significant engagement.
About the Data: The data is derived from comScore OTT Intelligence in the US and covers the month of April 2017.
