OTT video streaming services in Australia: how do platforms compare in popularity vs satisfaction?

October marked the 100th anniversary of the Walt Disney Company. Founded by brothers Walter Elias Disney and Roy Oliver Disney as an animation studio in Hollywood, Disney is today a multinational entertainment behemoth with its own theme parks, cruise liners, computer games and streaming service.

The conglomerate entered Australia’s OTT streaming market in November 2019 with the launch of Disney Plus (Disney+) – a video on-demand subscription service for films and TV shows from Disney, Marvel, Pixar, LucasFilm and National Geographic.

Four years on, how popular is Disney+ in Australia compared to rival platforms Netflix and Amazon Prime Video – and which video streaming service has the most satisfied subscribers? Additionally, what are the top factors deterring prospective OTT subscribers in Australia from signing up today?

Which video streaming platforms are most popular among Australian consumers in 2023?

Latest data from YouGov Profiles reveals that Netflix is, by far, the most popular video streaming service in Australia today: over two in five (43%) consumers are subscribers.

The next most popular platforms – at some distance – are Amazon Prime Video and Disney+. Almost one in five (19%) consumers are currently subscribed to each service.

Among local video streaming platforms, Nine Entertainment’s Stan (14%) is the most popular, followed by Foxtel Now (6%) – a joint venture between News Corp and Telstra.

Which video streaming platforms in Australia enjoy the highest subscriber satisfaction levels?

When it comes to customer satisfaction, however, the race is much closer. Netflix (78%), Disney+ (77%) and Amazon Prime (75%) boast the highest consumer satisfaction, with three in four subscribers identifying as satisfied customers.

At least two in three subscribers with Stan (69%), Paramount+ (69%) and Foxtel Now (66%) say they are satisfied customers – making them the platforms with the next highest satisfaction rates.

Meanwhile, just over three in five Apple (62%) subscribers say they are satisfied customers.

What are the top factors deterring Australian consumers who are considering an OTT subscription from signing up?

One-third (33%) of consumers who are not currently customers of any streaming platform – but are considering a subscription with Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Stan, Paramount+, Apple TV+, Foxtel Now – cite high subscription costs as the top reason deterring them from signing up so far.

Less than a sixth point to having poor or no internet connection (15%), the next most common factor, ahead of difficulty finding what they want to watch (10%) and poor viewing quality/experience (9%) as barriers to taking up a video streaming subscription so far.

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Methodology: YouGov Profiles is based on continuously collected data and rolling surveys, rather than from a single limited questionnaire. Profiles data for Australia is nationally representative of all adults (18 years or older), and weighted by age, gender, and region, and reflect the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) population estimates. Profiles data for Singapore is nationally representative of all adults (18 years or older), weighted by age, gender, and ethnicity, and reflect the latest Singapore Department of Statistics (DOS) estimates. Profiles data for Thailand is representative of the adult online population (18 years or older), and weighted by gender, age, region and monthly household income, and reflect the latest National Statistical Office of Thailand (NSO) population estimates. Learn more about Profiles.

_{Cover Photo by demaerre}