I’m pleased to present the 475th edition of the VideoNuze podcast, with my weekly partner Colin Dixon of nScreenMedia.

Was Netflix’s Q2 ’19 subscriber slowdown a short-term blip or the start of a long-term trend? This is the question Colin and I dig into on this week’s podcast.

This week Netflix reported its first-ever domestic streaming subscriber loss, dropping 130K paid subscribers to end the quarter with 60.1 million paid subscribers. The loss compared with a forecasted gain of 300K and a gain of 870K a year ago in Q2 ’18. And internationally, Netflix gained 2.83 million paid subscribers to end the quarter with 91.5 million subscribers, compared with a forecasted gain of 4.7 million and a gain of 4.6 million a year ago in Q2 ’18. So all in, Netflix’s global subscriber gain dropped roughly in half, from 5.45 million in Q2 ’18 to 2.7 million in Q2 ’19.

Netflix blamed a weak Q2 content slate and to a lesser extent price increases in the U.S. and expects Q3 to return to typical growth. But Colin and I note new SVOD dynamics ahead that could scramble things such as the loss of key content like “Friends” and “The Office,” strong entrants like Disney+ and HBO Max. It’s hard to tell how it all shakes out just yet.

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It’s been just 6 1/2 years since Netflix debuted its breakout original series “House of Cards” and new research from MoffettNathanson and HarrisX show just how much progress the company has made since: 15 out of the top 19 most popular TV shows are now original, with the remaining 4 acquired (the research credits “movies” as the 3rd most popular).

The most popular show is “Orange is the New Black” followed by “Stranger Things.” #4 is "Ozak" and #5 "Grace and Frankie." Of the acquired shows, “The Office” (which is moving to NBCU’s streaming service) is #9, while “Friends” (which is moving to WarnerMedia’s streaming service) is #10. “Supernatural” (#12) and “Breaking Bad” (#20) are the only other acquired shows in the top 20. Somewhat surprisingly, originals accounted for 13 of the top 19 shows on Amazon Prime Video (movies were #6). For Hulu, just 5 of its top 19 were original, with the majority of acquired shows coming from Disney/Fox (movies were #10).

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I’m pleased to present the 474th edition of the VideoNuze podcast, with my weekly partner Colin Dixon of nScreenMedia.

First up this week Colin and I discuss the “detente” that Amazon and Google seem to have achieved, announcing earlier this week that the Prime Video and YouTube apps will be supported on each other’s CTV devices. That’s good news for viewers who have had incomplete experiences.

Then Colin describes a new service Amazon’s Twitch has launched called Twitch Prime. Colin sees it as another opportunity for Amazon to drive value back to the Prime service and even create new Prime subscribers. Last, Colin shares some new data illustrating that even though Prime Video has made progress in video, its original programming is still not at Netflix’s level.

Listen in to learn more!

 
Click here to listen to the podcast (20 minutes, 44 seconds)
 

Click here for previous podcasts

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The VideoNuze podcast is also available in iTunes...subscribe today!

Frustrated Chromecast and Fire TV users can now breathe a sigh of relief: parent companies Google and Amazon have announced that apps for YouTube and Prime Video are officially available the other company’s CTV devices. That means Prime Video can be cast once again using Chromecast and is on Android TV devices. And YouTube’s app is available on Fire TV Stick (2nd gen), Fire TV Stick 4K, Fire TV Cube, Fire TV Stick Basic Edition, and Fire TV smart TVs (e.g. Toshiba, Insignia, Element, Westinghouse).

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