While the cost of living crisis is causing people to cut back on many expenses, streaming services continue to be one of the most popular ways to be entertained.   According to the latest data from the Barb, 19.3 million households (67.4%) in the United Kingdom have access to a subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service in the last three months, which is an increase on the 18.8 million (65.9%) that had access in the previous quarter.

Disney+ is the third most popular streaming service in the United Kingdom, with 7.6 million UK homes (26.7%) subscribed in the third quarter of 2023, which is up around 400,000 from the previous quarter. It’ll be interesting to see how many subscribers Disney+ can add this quarter, following the recent price rise and the launch of the much cheaper ad-supported tier in November for just £4.99 a month!

In the past three months, Disney+ has added new seasons of many original shows, including “Ahsoka”, “Loki”, “Welcome To Wrexham”, “Only Murders In The Building”, and “Futurama”, in addition to hit movies like “The Little Mermaid” and “Elemental”.

Disney+ did run a promotion in September, offering the streaming service for just £1.99 a month for three months, which will likely have helped boost overall subscribers.

Netflix remains the most popular streaming service, with 16.7 million homes in the UK subscribing, slightly up from 16.5 in the last quarter, which may have been from the recent crackdown on password sharing.

The next most popular streaming service in the UK is Amazon Prime Video, with 13 million homes (45.3%), which is up around 400,000 subscribers from the previous quarter. This might also likely increase into the next quarter as people use Amazon more for Christmas present shopping.

Apple TV+ has added another 300,000 subscribers, taking it to 2.2 million subscribers and Paramount+ has also added another 200,000 subscribers to reach 1.9 million subscribers. However, Sky’s NOW TV has lost 100,000 subscribers, dropping to 1.9 million subscribers.

Justin Sampson, Barb’s Chief Executive, said in a statement:

“The latest data from our Establishment Survey again shows how SVOD services have established themselves within the UK viewing ecosystem. Over two-thirds of homes subscribe to at least one, while most services have seen growth over the previous quarter. As with any TV service, content is a significant influence in attracting people. Our viewing data shows how new titles and library programming combine to drive time spent with these SVOD services.”

Have you recently joined Disney+? Let us know on social media!

Roger Palmer

Roger has been a Disney fan since he was a kid and this interest has grown over the years. He has visited Disney Parks around the globe and has a vast collection of Disney movies and collectibles. He is the owner of What's On Disney Plus & DisKingdom. Email: Roger@WhatsOnDisneyPlus.com Twitter: Twitter.com/RogPalmerUK Facebook: Facebook.com/rogpalmeruk

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