Back to Mobile View

Skip to Content

Apple takes 4 percent of US digital video market, Netflix reigns

by Dana Franklin Mar 15th 2011 at 3:30PM

Netflix 61%, Comcast 8%, Apple 4%, DirecTV 4%, Time Warner 4%

The NPD Group crowned Netflix the heavyweight champion of digital, video-on-demand services in a statement released earlier today. Between January 2011 and February 2011, Netflix accounted for 61 percent of all movies downloaded or streamed over the internet or offered on-demand through a cable or satellite television service.

Cable giant Comcast took second place with about 8 percent of the market. Apple, with a share of 4 percent, found itself in a three way tie for third place with DirecTV and Time Warner Cable. NPD used its new VideoWatch Digital tracking service to calculate its latest numbers, which also found digital video now makes up one quarter of all home video volume.

"Sales of DVDs and Blu-ray Discs still drive most home-video revenue, but VOD and other digital options are now beginning to make inroads with consumers," said Russ Crupnick, entertainment industry analyst for NPD.

VideoWatch Digital's results were based on 10,618 surveys completed by US consumers age 13 and older. In the survey, respondents recognized electronic sell-through (EST) services like iTunes had the most "current releases available," but Netflix won the titles for "overall shopping experience" and "value for price paid."

[Via AppleInsider]

Apple began selling feature films through its iTunes Store in 2006. Apple added the option to rent films in 2008, charging US$3.99 to $4.99 per rental for new releases. With limited partners, 99 cent TV episode rentals began last year. In contrast, Netflix offers unlimited streaming options for its growing library of feature films and TV episodes starting at $7.99 per month.

NPD's latest findings account for both rentals and purchases. Netflix's market dominance comes primarily from rentals through its subscription services. In 2010, Netflix aggressively expanded its Instant Watch program, adding a variety of newly compatible set top devices like the second generation Apple TV and spending over $1 billion to acquire the rights to stream films from Paramount Pictures, Lions Gate and MGM.

The news isn't all bad for Apple. AppleInsider reports that another study released last month shows Apple still dominates online video sales with 64.5 percent of the market. That study focused on purchases only and did not include video streaming services like Hulu or Netflix.

[via AppleInsider]



View Tags

Related Stories

Categories

iTunes

The NPD Group crowned Netflix the heavyweight champion of digital, video-on-demand services in a statement released earlier today....
 

Add a Comment

Sign in »
*0 / 3000 Character Maximum Comment Moderation Enabled. Your comment will appear after it is cleared by an editor.

11 Comments

Filter by:
starq

Thanks for reminding me Apple still had movies and TV shows. I honestly haven't thought about going there in over a year. Just kinda forgot all about them. Netflix FTW.

March 15 2011 at 6:30 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
libertyforall

Well ISPs are putting bandwidth caps on broadband, so who knows how long this will work out well...

March 15 2011 at 6:22 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Zoidbert

Lest you have any questions whatsoever as to why Comcast et al is pushing for data caps, etc., all you need to do is look at this graph and know the suits realize where all their Pay-Per-View business has gone.

March 15 2011 at 6:11 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
djrightonbeat

I stopped using apple tv about 6 months ago,,, I love vudu ,,, it is integrated with many blu ray players now,,,, I have a 110 inch screen and 1080 p projector !! The hdx movie streaming looks as good as blu ray !
720 doesn't cut it with a big screen, I heard the new apple tv hardware is capable of 1080p ?
Thru some kind of hack or jailbreak,,, when apple goes to 1080p,, Maybe I will switch back,,,, this is first time I ever went against an apple product :-(

March 15 2011 at 5:41 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Brian Erdelyi

To clarify, the source report does not cover ALL digital media... it only covers movies. I would like to see a report that includes TV as well. Likewise, I'd like to see other markets since most services are only available in US.

Hopefully Apple will listen and offer subscription based services.

March 15 2011 at 5:41 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
tuscanidream

I purchased a movie on iTunes a while ago when they started doing 720p. When I found out it had drm, I never bought another movie from them. Not only is it not cheap, but I have to have an Internet connection to authorize the computer and I can only authorize 5 devices per year or some crap like that. It's total crap. I'll stream from Netflix for $10 a month or rent the DVD for $1 from red box. Or even buy the movie and handbrake it.

ITunes movies sucks and I hope it's sales plummet so they might reconcider how they sell the movies.

March 15 2011 at 5:12 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
grifmusic

Netflix monthly rental model is the winner for movies. I just wish they had more "Play Now" selections.

March 15 2011 at 4:33 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to grifmusic's comment
scamsnl

I just bought an Apple TV this weekend. Between my library on my laptop, my newly-christened Netflix subscription (yeah, I'm late, I know), the iTunes rentals, and Comcast On Demand, I'm confident I'll have a hard time not finding something to watch somewhere.

If only the Comcast element weren't so outrageous in pricing.

March 15 2011 at 4:57 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Dan Pritchard

Dear scamsnl,
We're working on putting Netflix out of business. Hopefully once they're gone, our prices will seem more reasonable to you.

Yours truly,
Comcast Anti-Net-Neutrality Lobbying Department

P.S.: You owe us $59.95 for your Internet this month.

March 15 2011 at 7:50 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Steven Rushing

I would actually like to see a metric based on how much money is being made. I watch many many more movies at Netflix, perhaps 15-20 last month, all for the $10 monthly subscription. I purchased 4 movies from apple last month, which came out to around $65. You tell me who is winning. Netflix - Lots of bandwidth, less money. Apple - less bandwidth, more money. (I am unsure as to their respective licensing fees, which may play a factor as well...)

March 15 2011 at 4:14 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Marcos

The study is only about MOVIE downloads - not the whole "Digital video market" as the title implies. That's why Hulu is nowhere to be seen in the rankings.

Netflix streams mostly movies. Hulu streams mostly TV shows. Apple streams a probably more balanced mix of both. It'd be interesting to see the rankings on actual "digital video", perhaps by a metric such as total hours of content streamed or something similar.

March 15 2011 at 4:05 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Buy an ad here

Tweets

© 2012 AOL Inc. All Rights Reserved.