• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, September 23, 2019

A new HarrisX survey offers positive news for the upcoming Disney+, HBO Max and Peacock streaming services — and also some fairly upbeat news for the marketplace in general.

The survey, conducted among 6,621 U.S. adults between August 6 and 12, found that 28% of those who are currently using a streaming service say they are likely to sign up for one of those new services.

On average, nearly a quarter (21%) said they are likely to subscribe to the $6.99 Disney+ bundle that will also include Hulu and ESPN+ (Disney+ as a stand-alone option was included in the survey). Disney+ will launch November 12.

In addition, 11% and 10% respectively, on average, said they’re likely to subscribe to WarnerMedia’s HBO Max and NBCUniversal’s Peacock.

Disney+ will launch November 12. HBO Max has a straight SVOD model, while Peacock is set to be both advertising- and subscription-supported. Neither service has yet revealed pricing.

HarrisX noted that respondents' expressed interest in adding new subscriptions indicates that the new services may actually expand the market. (Table below shows percentages broken out by which services they currently subscribe to.)

“For instance, about 30% of existing customers of HBO Now and HBO Go intend to sign up for HBO Max,” the researcher pointed out. “This upsell may indicate retention and revenue growth opportunities for other streamers like AT&T TV Now, and Hulu (included in the Disney+ bundle, along with ESPN+).”

Furthermore, the results of this poll seem to indicate that the new entries may help attract demographic groups so far less likely to be SVOD subscribers -- minorities and older millennial households, in particular.

Of those likely to sign up for Disney+, 21% are Hispanic and 20% are African-American, while only 17% of current subscribers are Hispanic and 11% are African-American. 

In terms of age, 25- to 36-year-old subscribers make up a quarter of current subscribers, but 37% of older millennials plan to sign up for Disney+.

“These numbers suggest a larger, content-driven subscriber community with an anticipated shift in demographic make-up,” notes HarrisX.   

HarrisX also writes that the results may indicate that content will be more important than cost in driving adoption of new services.

Asked what excites them about the upcoming new services launches, 34% cited the library of new movies that Disney+ will offer, 23% said the original content at HBO Max, and 21% said the new TV shows at NBC.

By comparison, just 19%, 16% and 17%, respectively said that they are excited about the costs of the Disney+, HBO Max and NBCU services, respectively (shown from left to right in table below).

But again, the latter two haven’t even announced prices yet: A fact not noted in HarrisX’s summary analysis — and one that  would seem to make it hard to interpret the results of this question.

Other recent surveys on likelihood to subscribe and pricing have generated somewhat less positive results.