Research: half of Americans use Netflix

Half of all Americans have used Netflix to stream television series and movies, new research shows.

Fifty-one per cent of 1,077 people interviewed by RBC Capital said they had used the SVOD platform at least once in the past 12 months to watch programming.

This is the highest level banking firm RBC has released since beginning to track Netflix in 2011, and is slightly up on the number recorded in May.

RBC’s November report showed Netflix was ahead of video streaming site YouTube (48%), which was tracking slightly ahead of Netflix in August, in terms of watching television series and movies.

There was more bad news for Amazon Prime Instant Video, which was earlier this week described as a “follower” to HBO Now and Netflix. It polled at 26% of respondents, with 23% saying they had used the broadcaster-backed Hulu.

The report’s author, RBC analyst Mark Mahaney, credited Netflix’s growth largely to its focus on original programming, and suggested the US-listed firm’s share price should be closer to US$140 than the current US$128.04.