More than six in 10 Americans (61%) say they’ve been watching streaming video more since the start of the coronavirus outbreak—about the same as the number who say they’ve been cooking at home more often (60%), and more than twice as many who say they’ve been watching more cable TV (27%). A new Fortune|SurveyMonkey poll, conducted May 11th among more than 1,000 people across the U.S., indicates huge gains for streaming video platforms resulting directly from the coronavirus pandemic.
Just under half of the country (45%) now says they use video streaming services every day, up from about 30% in October and November 2019. In the same time period, the number of people who say they’ve never watched streaming video halved from about 20% to 9%.
Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Hulu have all significantly increased their user base in the past six months, with nearly three-quarters of people (74%) saying they use Netflix and 60% saying they use Amazon Prime Video. Nearly a third of people (31%) say they use Disney+, and 10% of people now use Apple TV+, both of which launched in November.
More than half of Netflix users (55%) say they’re using the service more than they were 12 months ago—a significant jump up from October and November. Similarly, more than half of Hulu users (53%) say they use the service more now than they did 12 months ago. Amazon and HBO Now saw smaller increases in the proportion of their users who say they’re using the service more now than a year ago.
In October, 79% of streaming TV viewers said they most often access streaming services via their own login. Now, that has increased slightly to 84%.
When businesses reopen, about half of people (49%) expect to see movies in theaters about as often as they used to, but a substantial 38% say they plan to go to movie theaters less often than they had in the past, and just 13% anticipate going more often.
Streaming video users are overwhelmingly satisfied with their experience on each platform. Netflix leads here as well, with 97% of its users saying they are satisfied with their experience, including 62% who are very satisfied. Disney+ (94%), Hulu (93%), Amazon Prime Video (91%) are close behind. Apple TV+ (88%) and HBO Now (87%) lag just slightly overall, and are the only two platforms that have less than half of their users giving a “very satisfied” rating.
The up-and-comers from NBC and HBO have minimal excitement thus far: just 16% of people say they’re likely to subscribe to NBC’s Peacock and 20% say they’re likely to subscribe to HBO Max. Among HBO Now users, that number doubles to 40%.
For more detailed results, click through the interactive toplines below.
Read more about our polling methodology here.
Question text:
How often do you watch video using streaming services (like Netflix or Hulu)?
Do you currently subscribe to cable or satellite television?
Which of the following video streaming services do you currently use? (Select all that apply)
Compared to 12 months ago, are you using the following video streaming services more, less, or about the same amount?
-Amazon Prime Video
- Apple TV+
- Disney+
- HBO Now
- Hulu
- Netflix
How do you access video streaming services most of the time?
In the past six months, have you canceled any of the following video streaming services? (Select all that apply.)
Which, if any, of the following have you been doing MORE since the start of the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S.? (Select all that apply.)
Have you watched any of the following streaming shows in the past two months? (Select all that apply.)
When businesses reopen near you, how often do you expect to see movies in movie theaters?
When launched, how likely are you to subscribe to NBC’s Peacock streaming service?
When launched, how likely are you to subscribe to the new HBO Max streaming service?
How satisfied are you with your experience using Netflix?
How satisfied are you with your experience using Disney+?
How satisfied are you with your experience using Apple TV+?
How satisfied are you with your experience using Amazon Prime Video?
How satisfied are you with your experience using HBO Now?
How satisfied are you with your experience using Hulu?
