With new streaming services popping up all over the place, brand recognition is key in attracting subscribers. A new study by Hub Research shows that a surprising amount of streaming services aren’t as well-known as you’d think.
Consumers seem pretty confident when it comes to knowing about Netflix, Hulu, and other streaming services that have been around for a while. In addition, the more niche a streaming service appears to be, the more confident viewers are that they know enough about it to describe it to someone.
Of the consumers surveyed, 35% say they view Disney+ as having the most niche focus on specific genres out of all the streaming services, with the top three presumed genres cited as kids’ content, theatrical films, and fantasy/supernatural. Incidentally, this comes as Disney+ CEO has announced a plan to delve into broader general entertainment which could change this opinion in the future.
ESPN+ was a close second with 31% of respondents seeing it as super niche, followed by HBO Max.
As expected, the vast majority (98%) of consumers have heard of Netflix, and 80% of those are confident they could describe the platform. Prime Video, Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max are close behind with 96%+ saying they’ve heard of the services, although only 58% of respondents would feel confident describing what HBO Max offers to someone else.
Moving down the list, Peacock has even less awareness and familiarity, with just over half of consumers who say they understand what it offers. Apple TV+, ESPN+, and AMC+ were all at the bottom of the list in terms of being vague as to what kind of content or offerings each service provides. Only 34% of people who have heard of AMC+ say they could describe it to someone else.
“TV services have been ramping up their ad spending in recent years; in fact, the number of streaming service ad impressions more than doubled between 2019 and 2020” said Peter Fondulas, principal at Hub and co-author of the study. “As a result, virtually everyone has heard of most of the TV streamers in the market today. But those ad initiatives have not been nearly as successful in helping potential users understand why they should sign up for any given service.”