Report: Disney+ Defeats Netflix in Viewed Original Content on Streaming
By Movieguide® Staff
After streamers became the primary avenue for new releases during the COVID-19 pandemic, a new report from TVision revealed that original movies were most popular, with Disney’s LUCA, RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON and SOUL leading the way.
Although a traditional box office release, pre-pandemic, would earn more money, Disney has proven to be on top when it comes to original content, even toppling Netflix’s most-watched original series, according to TVision.
Some of the movies on the most-watched list included WONDER WOMAN 1984, JINGLE JANGLE and THE SOCIAL DILEMMA, all of which were nominated for Movieguide® Awards earlier this year.
During the months of June and July, TVision tracked the streaming numbers of 5,000 households.
Variety reported:
Far and away the most popular title was animated Pixar lm “Luca,” which was viewed by panel members nearly 148 times as much as the average title TVision measured during July after premiering on Disney+ on June 18th. That made a much bigger splash than Dreamworks’ “Boss Baby” sequel on Peacock and Netix’s action in “Gunpowder Milkshake,” the second- and third-biggest TVision-ranked titles of that month, respectively.
Disney+ was similarly dominant in June with “Raya and the Last Dragon,” which became free to view on Disney’s SVOD in June after debuting via Premier Access inMarch. “Luca” was never on Premier Access.
TVision’s data covers viewing analytics from all of the major SVODS and AVODs in the U.S.
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Based on the survey, households are tuning into movies more than TV series. RAYA even defeated Disney+’s highly successful Marvel series like LOKI and WANDAVISION. TVision can compare series and movies despite their different runtimes because it is based on audience size and not time spent watching.
Although calculating the monetary success of individual titles is difficult with the lack of transparency from major streamers like Netflix and Disney+, TVision’s numbers provide some evidence that Disney has the upper hand regarding original content.
Despite Netflix holding the crown for the most popular streamer due to subscriber counts, Disney+ edged out Netflix movies such as YES DAY, THE MITCHELLS VS. THE MACHINES, and THUNDER FORCE.
Variety reported:
When examined against the backdrop of movies debuting within the last 12 months and measured by TVision, “Raya” isn’t as popular. Pixar’s “Soul,” which skipped theaters to debut on Disney+ on December 25, is the title that was viewed most by TVision panel members over the last 12 months.
Similar findings were found in data from Nielsen earlier this year. Movieguiude® reported:
Streaming companies jockeyed throughout 2020 for the top spot, but Disney+’s family-friendly content edged out Netflix.
According to Nielson data, Disney+’s viewer base makes up 6% of the average amount of time consumers spent streaming in December. Netflix is still the most popular streaming service, but data showed that it declined from 31% to 28%, Nielsen said.
Although Netflix remained in the lead in the series and original series categories, Disney+ dominated competitors when it came to movies.
Out of Neilson’s list of top 10 movies, seven were from Disney+, and only three came from Netflix. Furthermore, eight of the ten movies were animated, geared towards families, and contained uplifting and family-friendly content.
“Kids are watching those movies over and over and over again,” Brian Fuhrer, a senior vice president at Nielson, said. “Kids movies have a tremendous value of repeat viewing. Consumers and subscribers derive value over and over again because people will keep going with ‘Moana’ and other kids movies.”
The Neilson data points to what Movieguide® has said all along; movies with positive morals and family-friendly content perform stronger than movies with immoral content.
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