A dive by Ampere Analysis into its proprietary consumer research in the UK and US highlights some gaps between content availability and subscriber preferences on Netflix and Amazon Prime SVoD services.
Alex Varatharajah, Analyst at Ampere Analysis explains: “Leading SVoD platforms have done well in building broad content catalogues to cover consumer genre preferences. Although many are heading in the right direction, Ampere Analysis has identified some genres – most notably Crime & Thriller and Action & Adventure – where a sizeable opportunity exists for the platforms to strengthen what they offer, and better match their audience appeal. Meaning consumers can spend less time searching and more time watching.”
The facts: UK
Comedy is the number one genre for both sets of subscribers. Netflix offers more than double (161 per cent) the content hours of Prime. Comedy ranks second on Netflix and fourth on Prime in terms of the proportion of content hours available
Drama is ranked second for Prime subscribers and third for Netflix subscribers. Netflix has 86 per cent more content hours
Comedy claims the largest proportion of content hours on both: Netflix at 38 per cent, Prime at 28 per cent
Both services offer similar Action and Adventure content, but the proportion is low given the popularity of the genre. For Prime it ranks fifth with 8 per cent of hours, for Netflix it’s fifth at 6 per cent
Crime and Thriller has an even smaller proportion of catalogue (5 per cent on Prime, 4 per cent on Netflix)
Sci-fi and Fantasy is one of the top genres for subscribers of both services, but there is far less content. It represents just 3 per cent of the Prime catalogue, and 2 per cent of Netflix
The facts: US
Both are strong on Drama, one of the top five preferred genres for both sets of subscribers
Comedy is the top genre for both, but Netflix has 43 per cent more content hours in this genre
Prime has 48 per cent more content hours in Action and Adventure, the number 2 genre for both
Crime and Thriller represents just 4-6 per cent of content hours on either service, yet it’s the third most preferred genre for Prime subscribers and fourth for Netflix
Fantasy lovers will prefer Prime which has 100 per cent more content hours than Netflix. This despite more than half of subscribers to both enjoy this genre. In terms of content hours, it represents 2.6 per cent of the catalogue on Netflix and 4 per cent on Prime
Documentary and Biography is enjoyed by at least half of subscribers to both services (Prime 54 per cent, Netflix 50 per cent). However, it represents 16 per cent of the content hours on Prime and 9 per cent on Netflix – it is the third most popular content type on both services
Alex Varatharajah concludes: “Subscription VoD services are beginning to reach saturation point amongst younger demographics. To maintain growth, it is essential that SVoD players further adjust content catalogues to appeal to an increasingly on-demand-savvy older age group. Factual programming, crime procedurals, lifestyle shows and sports-related titles are all more important for older consumers.”
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