Apple TV+ keeps finding new viewers to grow faster than rivals

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Apple TV+, Netflix, Hulu, Disney+
Apple TV+ growth stood out in the streaming market in Q2 2022.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Apple TV+ saw strong growth in spring 2022, according to a company that tracks viewership. It grew to 6% of the U.S. streaming market.

During the same quarter, Netflix stayed on top but dropped by two percentage points. It’s now just ahead of Amazon Prime Video.

Apple TV+ enjoys significant growth

While it holds a somewhat small part of the streaming video market, Apple’s service now has a much larger share than it did a few months ago. More viewers means Apple TV+ is much more likely to still be around for the long term.

The service captured an additional percentage point of the U.S. streaming market during the second quarter of 2022, according to data from JustWatch. And it’s up by two percentage points since the beginning of the year. For anyone weak on maths, this does not mean Apple TV+ viewership grew 2%. Instead, it took an additional 2% of the entire U.S. market awash from rivals… mostly Netflix.

“HBO Max and Apple TV+ continue to have the highest growth rate in the U.S.,” noted JustWatch. Apple doesn’t report subscriber numbers, so it’s up to analysts like JustWatch to estimate how well Cupertino is competing.

2022 brought the release of Severance and CODA, both of which drew large audiences for Apple’s streaming service and surely contributed to growth.

Another recent study found that Apple TV+ subscribers seem much more satisfied with the streaming service than they were a year ago.

Netflix keeps slipping

Netflix once dominated the streaming market, but it has slipped in recent quarters. “The streaming wars continue to heat up, with Netflix losing -2% market share in Q2,” said JustWatch. “Rivals such as Apple TV+, Disney+, and HBO Max capitalized on the losses, and each added +1% in Q2.”

Apple TV+ keeps finding new viewers to grow faster than rivals
U.S. streaming video market in Q2 2022.
Charts: JustWatch

In spring 2022, Netflix’s share of the U.S. streaming market was just one percentage point ahead of Prime Video. And Amazon’s share has gone up by a percentage point so far in 2022, so the two might be tied soon.

Especially as Netflix users are less satisfied with the service than they used to be, likely because of a price hike in early 2022.

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