Apple TV+ and Disney+ were the major gainers in the U.K. subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) market, a survey from BARB, the country’s television audience measurement currency, has found. BARB’s establishment survey for the first quarter of the year reports that the number of U.K. households with access to a streaming service reached 19.57 million U.K. homes (68.5% of households), in the first quarter of the year, an increase of almost 500,000 homes since the fourth quarter of 2021.
Of these, 1.57 million homes had access to Apple TV+, up 27% from 1.24 million the previous quarter and 6.53 million homes had access to Disney+, a quarterly increase of 19% from 5.49 million in Q4 2021. Netflix was up 3%. For more streaming industry news on short films, sales and more, read the full report by Variety. You could also read the UK’s BARB report released today here.
There’s little doubt that Apple Studios winning an Oscar for CODA provided Apple with a new wave of subscribers that should spill over to Q2. Since that time Apple TV+ has added some really great new series like Shining Girls Slow Horses that was shot in the UK, and much more.
Now that most COVID restrictions have lifted from production, Apple TV+ could be on track to continue its growth path for the remainder of 2022 and beyond.
