Amazon Prime Gains Ground Against Netflix As Most Popular Streaming Platform in Q3

As pandemic-related lockdowns continue around the world, streaming video continually becomes a go-to for most people looking to get their entertainment fix. According to new data released by stream-tracking site Reelgood, stream numbers decreased as the year shifted from its second to third quarter. Even then, numbers are significantly higher than a pre-COVID world — and one service, in particular, is even decreasing the stranglehold Netflix has on the market.

Reelgood's latest subscriber crunch suggests during the third quarter, Netflix reigned supreme with 25-percent of streams initiated within the site, slightly edging out Prime Video's 21-percent share. In the second quarter, Netflix tallied 32-percent while Amazon finished with 20-percent.

The remaining streamers in the top five this quarter include Hulu (15-percent), HBO Max (nine-percent), and Disney+ (six-percent).

"This quarter — SVoD as a whole saw a 9% drop in streaming share compared to Q2, AVoD is up by 23%, and initiated streams for TVoD jumped up 22%," the site writes. "The increase in TVoD streaming in Q3 makes sense in light of several high-profile releases such as Bill & Ted Face The Music, Mulan, Ava, and Antebellum — all of which consumers were more than happy to spend their money on, based on how each one has topped various VoD charts at one point or another."

While Reelgood users may not be using Disney+ as much when compared to the other platforms, the company has decided to make a major shift towards producing content for its streaming platforms in Disney+ and Hulu.

"Given the incredible success of Disney+ and our plans to accelerate our direct-to-consumer business, we are strategically positioning our Company to more effectively support our growth strategy and increase shareholder value," Disney chief Bob Chapek said in a statement Monday afternoon. "Managing content creation distinct from distribution will allow us to be more effective and nimble in making the content consumers want most, delivered in the way they prefer to consume it."

In a follow-up interview, the exec double-downed on a commitment to streaming.

"But at the same time, there's a lot of consumers that want to experience a movie from the safety, comfort, and convenience of their own home, for whatever reasons they do," Chapek said of the internal fight of debating theatrical versus streaming releases. "So we want to make sure that we put the consumer first, and the consumer is going to be making the decision in terms of how they consume our media as opposed to some arbitrary decision that we may make from a distribution standpoint. So we want to look at ourselves as consumer enablers."

Cover photo by Mateusz Slodkowski/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images