Forced stay-at-home orders propelled Netflix’s fastest subscriber additions in its twenty-three history. The streaming leader added 26 million subscribers in the first half of 2020, making it one of the biggest lockdown economy winners.
SVOD is still a minor segment of the overall streaming market in Germany. Proportionally, Germany spends less than half of US households ($24 billion) on SVOD services when adjusted for currency and population.
The growth of SVOD services in Scandinavia shows no signs of slowing down. Despite heavy competition from local services Netflix has gained four million subscribers.
Since the COVID lockdown began, nearly five million UK households have signed up for a streaming service. Netflix, Amazon, and Disney+ have been the primary beneficiaries of this boom.
With most of the world in mandatory lockdown, Netflix doubled its quarterly subscriber estimates from January through March by adding 16 million new subscribers.
As the coronavirus and subsequent global shutdown forces film and television production into an unprecedented standstill, streaming services are accelerating their takeover.
The major studios sabotaged the dream of a la carte programming and are now attempting to transform streaming into cable television via an ethernet connection instead of coaxial.
AT&T released its answer to subscriber losses with an all-new set-top service called AT&T TV, not to be confused with a plethora of other options. The basic package includes 100 channels.
Several media companies are holding discussions to acquire advertising-supported video streaming services. Fox Corp is in talks with Tubi, and NBCUniversal is considering Vudu.
AVOD is gaining ground on SVOD in the United States. The proportion of television viewership that is through streaming services has almost doubled since 2018.
Streaming giant Netflix officially opened its latest non-US office in Paris last month, signaling a deeper commitment to Europe. Netflix now has four offices in Europe.
Disney+ nearly triples its subscriber base since launching in November. Through January, the streaming service has 28.6 million subscribers, up from 10 million weeks after it debuted.
Netflix missed its subscriber forecast in the US and Canada. Despite that, the streamer beat its overseas estimate of 7 million by adding 8.33 million.
Netflix shocked most industry observers by receiving a leading 24 Academy Award nominations, more than any other distributor, including two for Best Picture.
After the abysmal start to Apple’s new streaming service, Apple TV+, the tech company is searching for relevance with a new leader and a possible strategic acquisition.
Sony Pictures is shutting down its PlayStation Vue streaming television service in the first quarter of 2020. Rising content costs and a plethora of choices have made the service untenable.
Netflix continues to publicize unsubstantiated claims that its original films and shows outperform third-party content contrary to all independent research.
To gain a global content edge, Netflix has set into motion a EU production boom with plans to produce over 225 films and shows in Europe. Netflix currently controls 53% of the SVOD market in Europe.