Ever since the invention of streaming, streaming companies have started competing to see who will become the most popular, exciting, and dependable. As streaming grew in popularity and society started to evolve with the new form of entertainment, Netflix was clearly the first out of the gate. While other companies joined the fray, one of the battles became who would be the most innovative streaming service. Customers can clearly vote with their pocketbooks on this question, but it is always interesting to see what the perception is of the bigger players in the space, and how the OG stacks up to their competitors. As has been the case since we started tracking, Netflix continues to be viewed as the most innovative streaming service, with Amazon Prime close behind. Hulu rounds out the top three, with Peacock and Apple TV having the lowest innovation reputation yet again. The fact that Apple is viewed as an innovative tech company does not give them automatic credit on their streaming platform. This is not to say people are not using Apple TV, but the reputation is well behind their peers.
Key Takeaways:
Gen Z is much more critical of streaming services. Gen Z is much more consistent with their rankings, and also much harsher on their grading when it comes to innovation. Except for YouTube TV, every platform we tested has 30-40% of Gen Z consumers considering the platforms to have low innovation, whereas all other generations tend to be closer to 20%. Gen Z also allocates very few top ratings compared to older cohorts. The percentage of Gen Z consumers who rank the platforms high on the innovation scale ranges from 20-28%, whereas the other three generations allocated in the 30-40% range.
If you have a subscription, you are much more likely to feel the platform is innovative. These results are not overly shocking, but it is interesting to see how people who do not have a subscription view the various platforms. YouTube TV is viewed as the most innovative among those who do not have a subscription, but the score is relatively low (25% view the platform as very innovative). Netflix is in a close second (24%), with HBO Max rounding out the top three (22%). On the other side of the ledger, among those who do have subscriptions, Disney Plus is viewed as the most innovative (58% of subscribers view the platform as very innovative), with Netflix in second place, with 56% feeling the platform they subscribe to is very innovative. Worth noting that just 38% of YouTube TV subscribers feel the platform is very innovative.
Economic levels matter. People with higher levels of income are less critical of streaming services, with a majority of people in the $80K or more income level viewing 5 of the platforms as very innovative, compared to none of the platforms among Americans who make less than $40K a year. Americans making less than $80K annually put Netflix at the top of the innovation rankings, while those who make $80K or more give the nod to Amazon Prime Video.
Generally speaking, Netflix continues to lead the pack, but the others are catching up. At the same time, it would be hard to imagine that there is much room to grow for the industry leader. Apple continues to be a surprise in terms of how its streaming platform is viewed, but clearly it is not creating a drag on the company's overall position in the global market.
