Whip Media has just published its new “Streaming Satisfaction Report, confirming that HBO Max leads the industry with 94% of the respondents saying they are “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the service, followed by Disney+ (88%), Hulu (87%), and Netflix, which ranked #2 in 2021 and dropped to #4 in 2022 (80%).
The study, based on nearly 2,500respondents in the USA (April 29 to May 4, 2022), takes an in-depth look at customer satisfaction with a number of major streaming services, including Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, Apple TV+, Hulu, Peacock, Paramount+, Amazon Prime Video and Discovery+. Ultimately, the report results shine a light on what viewers both like and dislike about the top SVODs – helping provide a clearer picture of the current streaming landscape and highlight emerging industry trends.
The key findings include that HBO Max leads the industry in terms of customer satisfaction, with 94% of respondents saying they were “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the service; Netflix, which ranked second overall in 2021, dropped to fourth place in 2022 (with 80%) behind Disney+ (88%) and Hulu (87%).
Netflix’s decision to increase prices earlier this year was the main reason customers said they canceled their subscription, with 69% saying price hikes led to them leaving the service; overall, Netflix ranks last in the industry in terms of perceived value
Still, the leading global SVOD remains the ‘most indispensable’ service, with 31% of respondents saying they would keep the service if they could only have 1 SVOD subscription. This was a 10-point drop from 2021, though, while HBO Max and Disney+ both made gains from last year
Apple TV+ easily made the most significant gain in customer satisfaction in 2022, with a 14-point surge helping it jump ahead of services like Amazon Prime Video, Peacock and Discovery+
Eric Steinberg, Whip Media’s media research and insights lead, commented:‘As an industry, we are heavily focused on subscriber counts and market share, but there is less coverage of how consumers perceive the platforms and their offerings. By exploring the satisfaction with specific elements of their product, the platforms, and their suppliers, can understand how to better serve their customers’.
The report also looks at a wide-range of platform characteristics, including the variety and quality of original and library series, movies, user experience, program recommendations and more.
Also, HBO Max also leads in satisfaction among SVODs for the quality of original content, variety of original content, and the perceived value of the service
Both Paramount+ and Peacock made modest gains in satisfaction versus last year. Consumers view the quality of Paramount+’s original series on par with Hulu’s. Peacock ranks lower, but its library, fueled by The Office, is a strength for them
Netflix ranks first for both user experience and suggesting content to subscribers.
