Kantar: UK SVOD subscriptions jump in Q3, with Disney+ leading the surge

In the three months to September, the number of UK households with at least one SVOD service increased by half a million, according to the latest data from research outfit Kantar, with Disney+ leading in the subscriptions during the quarter.

The growth in uptake means that 19.8 million UK households have at least one paid video streaming service, up from 19.3 million the previous quarter.

According to Kantar, Disney’s ‘£1.99 for 3 months’ promotional campaign spurred a significant boost in acquisition rates in September, helping Disney+ take the lead in new SVOD subscriptions in Q3, with a share of 22%.

AppleTV+ took second place in new subscriptions in Q3 with a 15% share, its highest ever recorded quarterly acquisition share.

Discovery+ and Paramount+ also saw subscriber growth in Q3, while Netflix and Amazon Prime Video saw subscriber counts remain relatively flat.

Disney’s promotional pricing saw it roughly tripledits rate of acquisition in September. While AppleTV+ saw growth, churn rates remain high and 38% who joined the service during quarter were returning subscribers, according to Kantar.

According to the research outfit, over half of UK consumers say that recommendations from friends and family are their most important source of inspiration when looking for new content to watch. Reviews from critics were cited by 23%, marginally higher than YouTube at 21%. Only 7% of consumers said TikTok helps them decide what shows to watch.

Kantar speculated that the launch of Freely, the joint platform created by the UK’s free-to-view broadcasters, could transform the landscape by creating a more level playing field between broadcasters and streaming giants.

“FAST services are igniting a revolution across the UK, where 16% of households are already hooked on these emerging platforms. The debut of Freely promises a level playing field, empowering traditional broadcasters to vie for their share of advertising revenue. While the streaming giants venture into uncharted territories experimenting with ad-tier and subscription models, a fresh contender has entered the arena, poised to transform the UK streaming landscape and challenge the dominance of the US-based services,” said Dominic Sunnebo global consumer insight director at Kantar.