Growth among premium video subscription streaming platforms lost steam in the first quarter of 2024, increasing 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. In 2023, premium subscriptions gained 19% YoY. That Q1 gain represents a net addition of 25.8 million U.S. subscriptions to a total 275 million, according to estimates from Antenna.
Netflix saw the strongest growth (7.3 million), results mostly credited to its password-sharing crackdown as well as the launch of an ad-supported tier, which started in Q4 2022.
Antenna, whose findings were reported by MediaPost, said that in terms of percentage gains, Peacock saw its biggest spike (+31%), with 8.1 million gross additions. Paramount+ also saw big gains in terms of gross subscribers (up 8.8 million). Both were bolstered by postseason NFL games — the AFC Wild Card game (Peacock) and the Super Bowl (Paramount+).
The so-called “churn” rate inched up to 5% (in March 2023) from 4.4% (March 2024).
On a quarterly basis — Q1 2024 vs. Q4 2023 — net subs additions fell “significantly” to 4.8 million. Prior quarterly periods saw net gains of 7 million to 8 million.
“Video streaming is reaching a new level of maturity. Growth is more moderate, and churn continues to be a challenge,” write the authors of the report.
“With their brands now well-established and with strong foundations of scale, SVODs [subscription video on demand platforms] have shifted their focus from pure subscriber acquisition to a more nuanced attention on profitable growth.”
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