Apptopia and Braze release state of streaming industry report

With 2020 Poised to Be a Breakout Year for Streaming, Report Analyzes How New and Existing Can Be Successful in Evolving Market Conditions

NEW YORK — Apptopia, a market leader in mobile app intelligence, and Braze, a comprehensive customer engagement platform, today announced key findings from a joint report titled “2020: The Year of Streaming,” analyzing the state of the streaming industry, as streaming is poised for a breakout year in 2020. Disney+ demonstrated that new streaming services can enter a crowded market and be successful, and this year, there will be new streaming services launching, including Amazon Prime Video Cinema Hub, HBO Max, Peacock, and Quibi. Additionally, global conditions have rapidly changed consumer behavior, and streaming services are quickly adapting to the new normal. This report compares 35 streaming services over an eight-month period to examine how successful companies used customer engagement strategies to drive business value.

“Apptopia looks at mobile app trends that drive business and consumer behavior, and we’ve been looking for ways to extend our dataset to dive deeper and identify the reasons behind these trends,” said Adam Blacker, VP, Insights of Apptopia. “We were enthusiastic to partner with Braze on this report to do exactly this. The findings of the report demonstrate that 2020 is going to be the year of streaming and dive into how new and existing streaming services can be successful in this new environment.”

“With the proliferation of streaming options over the years, today’s consumers are overwhelmed with choice,” said Myles Kleeger, President and Chief Customer Officer of Braze. “The report proves that content combined with the right customer engagement strategies not only delivers relevant experiences, but also drives business growth. The best practices outlined in the report can really help any brand looking to connect with their customers in a relevant way.”

Key findings of the report include:

• Content that creates fandom is king: Adult Swim’s cartoon series Rick and Morty proved to be the most effective content for generating both short-term and long-term monthly active users (MAU). Over the course of the most recent season of Rick and Morty, the Adult Swim app’s daily active users (DAU) increased by 504%. Amazon Prime Video’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, HBO’s Game of Thrones, and sporting events also drove DAU growth in a meaningful way.
• There’s enough room for new and existing services: In the first three months alone, Disney+ amassed over 28 million subscribers in five countries before it expanded to seven more in March. Apptopia and Braze identified strategies that existing streaming services successfully used to grow engagement with customers. Top performing brands are 21% more likely to send push notifications and 300% more likely to send in-app messages, and also saw an increase in in-app purchase revenue.
• Top streaming apps worldwide in 2020: One quarter into 2020, a lot has happened in streaming. While Netflix tops the most worldwide downloads for 2020 (59.1 million downloads through Q1), Disney+ dominated Europe before it even arrived in major markets there. Additionally, the report found that consumers still gravitate toward YouTube, despite the emergence of newer competitors.

Looking ahead to the rest of 2020, customers are going to be presented with more streaming options than ever before. To stay relevant and binge-worthy, it’s critical for new and existing streaming services to use customer engagement strategies that create personalized experiences and provide value to every customer.