Netflix‘s “Baby Reindeer” emerged as the most-watched streaming series in the U.K. for Q2 2024, even as the overall market shed 300,000 subscribers, according to Kantar’s latest Entertainment on Demand report.
Despite the market contraction, Disney+ managed to secure the top spot for new streaming subscriptions in the U.K. during the second quarter, while Apple TV+ experienced a notable decline. The Mouse House’s streamer captured 19% of new sign-ups, propelled by the release of “Grey’s Anatomy” Season 20 and sustained interest in the historical drama “Shogun.” Meanwhile, Apple TV+ fell to fourth place with a 12% share, ending its six-month streak at the summit.
Prime Video bounced back from a soft first quarter to claim the second position, largely due to the popularity of “Clarkson’s Farm” Season 3. The farming docuseries was the second most-enjoyed title across Great Britain, trailing only “Baby Reindeer.”
Popular on Variety
Warner Bros. Discovery’s platforms (TNT/EuroSport/Discovery+) climbed to third place, with sports content driving 25% of new subscriptions – a 12-month high for the company.
In a noteworthy shift, “Star Trek” overtook “Yellowstone” for the first time in over a year as the franchise most important in attracting new subscribers to Paramount+. However, this wasn’t enough to prevent a decline in the platform’s market share. Paramount+ continues to grapple with subscriber advocacy issues, maintaining a negative Net Promoter Score for the past 12 months.
The total number of British households with at least one paid streaming service dropped to 19.5 million, reflecting the loss of 300,000 subscribers from Q1. Only 8% of the British population signed up for a new video-on-demand service in Q2, marking the lowest acquisition rate in a year.
The report also noted increasing acceptance of ad-supported tiers, with 47% of British streamers now willing to accept ads for a cheaper service, up from 42% 18 months ago.
Netflix maintained its stronghold on content discovery, with 53% of subscribers choosing the platform as their first destination when seeking new shows to watch.