Peacock snatches biggest share of new SVOD subs in Q3: Kantar

Peacock, NBCUniversal’s hybrid AVOD/SVOD streaming service, grabbed the biggest share of new of streaming video subscriptions in the U.S. during the third quarter.

According to Kantar, the service claimed 17.2% of new VOD subscriptions during the quarter, well ahead of the 4.9% it recorded in the second quarter. The service’s total share was the highest among other major SVOD services and it knocked Amazon Prime Video out of the top spot. Amazon’s streaming service claimed 16% of new SVOD subscriptions after accounting for 23.2% in the previous quarter.

“Value for money was the top individual subscription driver for Peacock, followed by the ‘variety of TV series’, alongside ‘specific content’, which was cited by 25% of new subscribers as their primary motivator for joining,” said Dominic Sunnebo, senior vice president at Kantar, Worldpanel Division, in a statement. “Early indications from consumers towards the Peacock service are broadly positive with an overall Net Promoter Score of +9, but it’s notable that this dips just to +1 among those utilizing Peacock Free.”

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Peacock first launched for Comcast subscribers in April – with free access to the Premium service – before going nationwide in July. Peacock has a free tier available to everyone and a premium tier that costs $4.99/month with advertising (or $9.99/month with no ads.)

Kantar’s latest data showed HBO Max continuing to see steady growth with 11.3% share of new SVOD subscribers. The firm said that as Peacock and HBO Max grab consumers’ attention, Netflix and Disney+ are seeing their share of new subscribers fall under pressure. Disney+ accounted for 9.1% of new SVOD subscriptions and Netflix accounted for 8.3% during the third quarter. Apple TV+ snagged 4.9% and Hulu grabbed 9.5%.

“Despite multiple competitor service launches over the past two quarters, Hulu has shown remarkable resilience… Cord-cutting remains a key draw to Hulu, with 45% of the services subscribers holding cable TV vs. an SVOD market average of 53%. Hulu performs strongly in new sign ups via bundle deals, with the Hulu/Disney+ bundle and partnerships with Verizon Fios proving effective,” Kantar wrote.

The firm said planned cancellation is higher than the industry average for Apple TV+ and among those who plan to cancel, 26% state they are not prepared to pay once their free trial is over. Apple is addressing this – at least temporarily – by announcing a three month extension to the 12-month trial of Apple TV+ with a hardware purchase.