After a booming first half of the year for the King of Streaming, new data from Watchworthy compiled by Ranker shows that Netflix has been losing speed during the final quarter of 2020. According to the Watchworthy app, 56% of its users were Netflix users. But beginning September, less than 40% of Watchworthy’s new users reported they subscribe to the streaming giant.
Netflix added 2.2 million subscribers in Q3, reaching 195.15 million global subscribers in total by September 30. Although that number seems high, the outcome was slightly lower than the company’s estimated 2.6 million growth.
“We think this is primarily due to our record first half results and the pull-forward effect we described in our April and July letters,” Netflix wrote in a letter to shareholders. “In the first nine months of 2020, we added 28.1 million paid memberships, which exceeds the 27.8 million that we added for all of 2019. In these challenging times, we’re dedicated to serving our members.”
With 2020 being the year for new streaming services to throw their hats in the ring, Netflix could continue to see some slippage in its leading game. Disney+ has seen phenomenal growth since its launch, reaching 73 million subscribers on its one year anniversary. Analysts have adjusted their Disney+ forecasts to now say the streamer will reach a whopping 194 million subscribers by 2024, generating $13 billion in revenue.
“The emergence of newer upstarts like Disney+ and HBO Max have only made the battle for our valuable streaming time that more intense, in turn giving the big three—Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime Video—all the more reason to compete for our attention,” said Clark Benson, CEO and founder of Ranker. “We’re now able to get a sense of who might be winning the streaming wars by taking a closer look at the way in which people are using Watchworty—especially in a pandemic where staying home is the norm and app usage is at an all time high.”