In the wake of news that nearly $300 million in HBO Max programming had been scrapped ahead of yesterday’s earnings call, Whipmedia’s Second Quarter Streaming Satisfaction Report is beginning to reveal insights into why there has been so much chaos in the streaming industry of late.
HBO Max viewer satisfaction is up
According to Whipmedia’s 2022 report, HBO Max and Disney+ have made significant gains against Netflix (whose satisfaction score dropped by 10%), with HBO Max cementing itself as the most preferred streaming service in 2022 (holding a golden 94% satisfaction rate).
Overall SVOD satisfaction (2022):
- HBO Max – 94% (up 2% since 2021)
- Disney+ – 88% (no loss or gain since 2021)
- Hulu – 87% (down 2% since 2021)
- Netflix – 80% (down 10% since 2021)
- Paramount+ – 79% (up 4% since 2021)
- Apple TV+ – 76% (up 14% since 2021)
- Amazon – 72% (down 3% since 2021)
- Discovery+ – 72% (no loss or gain since 2021)
- Peacock – 68% (up 6% since 2021)
Viewers’ poor perception of Peacock may be most surprising about the report. Despite being up 6% since 2021, the SVOD still ranks last in terms of satisfaction, which should be a bookmark for executives at NBC, given the extensive library the streamer gives its customers access to.
With hits like The Northman in rotation and Universal properties like Jurassic World: Dominion and The Black Phone hitting the streamer 45 days after their theatrical runs are finished, as well as an enormous amount of original IP via NBCUniversal, we viewed Peacock as one of the most competitive streaming services in the market at just $4.99 a month. By comparison, Apple+ offers the same value proposition with much less content and sits at 76% in terms of viewer satisfaction.
Regarding retention, HBO Max ruled the roost once again, with 91% of viewers reporting that they were likely to keep the service. And this is where industry leaders like Netflix may be most concerned. In the same report, Netflix’s scores dropped 12% in just 12 months, with only 81% of existing customers reporting that they were likely to keep the service.
Likelihood to keep the service (2022):
- HBO Max – 91% (up 2% since 2021)
- Hulu – 88% (down 1% since 2021)
- Disney+ – 87% (up 1% since 2021)
- Amazon – 86% (no loss or gain since 2021)
- Netflix – 81% (down 12% since 2021)
- Paramount+ – 75% (up 2% since 2021)
- Apple TV+ – 73% (up 19% since 2021)
- Discovery+ – 69% (down 1% since 2021)
- Peacock – 67% (up 4% since 2021)
HBO Max was also viewed as having the most variety and highest quality of content. Disney+ came in second, and (surprise) Netflix fell to third (in both categories). All metrics considered, HBO Max placed first yet again at 85% overall when asked which streamer customers viewed most favorably in terms of “Value Satisfaction.”
Highlight: In 2022, only 6% of HBO Max viewers have reportedly canceled their service.
HBO Max also saw significant gains in terms of perceived value. When asked which service viewers would keep if they could keep only one, 19% reported that they would hold on to HBO Max. And while HBO Max came in second here (next to Netflix at 31%), this is a significant achievement in 12 months.
With HBO Max firmly in the lead, the question is: why is Zaslav canceling content in post-production, and what is Warner Bros Discovery up to?
Only time will tell, but with the company on such a roll, we can’t help but think that there is serious internal momentum to maintain this trend, which will likely lead to better programming and options for viewers in the long run.
And with hits like House of the Dragon coming in September, we could be about to see a WBD stock bump, similar to what Stranger Things has done for Netflix historically.
Stay tuned.