In 2015, Netflix accounted for about half of the overall 3% decline in TV viewing time among U.S. audiences, according to a new study by Michael Nathanson of MoffettNathanson. The analyst calculated that based on an estimate that Netflix’s domestic subs streamed 29 billion hours of video last year, representing 6% of total American live-plus-7 TV viewing reported by Nielsen (up from 4.4% in 2014). (…)
Moreover, Nathanson predicts Netflix’s total streaming hours as a percentage of TV viewing will continue to rise to about 14% by 2020. “Currently, Netflix is a source of industry pain, but not necessarily a cause of industry death,” he wrote in the note. (…)
Other studies have compared Netflix’s viewing to traditional TV. The service was on track to attract a larger 24-hour audience than each of the major broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC) some time in 2016, per an analysis last summer by FBR Capital Markets. (…)
As of the end of 2015, Netflix reported 74.76 million streaming customers worldwide, including 44.74 million in the U.S. (…)
Netflix is now at 81.5 million subscribers worldwide.
The eventual size Netflix will grow to is largely being underestimated in my eyes. Think YouTube size but with paying subscribers and TV quality professional content.
Or, think a significant part of today’s (international) TV market owned by a single company.
