Netflix Leads US OTT Market

Wednesday, October 31st, 2012
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Netflix Lead the US OTT Market and Tops ABI Research Competitive Assessment Ahead of Amazon and Apple

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — In 2011 Netflix accounted for just over 50% of the $3.2 billion OTT market in North America and despite highly publicized missteps during the company’s separation between streaming and physical media rentals, secured the top spot in ABI Research’s United States OTT Competitive Assessment. ABI Research evaluated US OTT vendors on various factors including: market share, device reach, and business model, which were divided between two main axes of “innovation” and “implementation.” This research is published as part of a Competitive Assessment report that also evaluates the UK OTT market and US multiscreen (TV Everywhere) operators.

Amazon and Apple captured the overall second and third positions in the US OTT vendor matrix. Netflix scored highest on both implementation and innovation while Amazon and iTunes occupied the second and third positions (Apple edging Amazon for implementation and Amazon ahead for innovation).

Senior analyst Michael Inouye commented, “In addition to market share, device reach to mobile devices weighed heavily in both the implementation and innovation scores. Apple’s iTunes scored well for its ability to leverage the cohesive Apple ecosystem. While Microsoft’s Xbox Zune video service did not place well in this analysis, the platform overall best depicts the growing importance of the hybridization between OTT and pay-TV services, making Xbox Live a platform to keep an eye on. Many of these elements were also true for the multiscreen analysis where operators like Cablevision scored lower in part due to device support and lack of differentiators.”

Practice director Sam Rosen added, “Once viewed as a key element to cutting the cord, pay-TV operators are expected to launch new OTT services to target lower price points as well as customers beyond their geographical footprint. Early hybrid offerings include early work from Synacor and Charter Communications that allows consumers to search for content from the pay-TV operator and key OTT providers from the same portal. Consumers simply want access to content, regardless of who is providing it, so innovative solutions like this will help the OTT market and bring additional exposure to the multiscreen market, which is still in its early stages.”

These findings are part of ABI Research’s OTT and Multi-screen Services Research Service.