• by Wayne Friedman , September 29, 2021

Apple TV+ consumer satisfaction scores are rising, due to the growth of popular content. But some issues remain.

Kantar, the media research company, says 39% of consumers are now satisfied with the “amount of content” on the streamer -- up from 25% when Apple TV+ launched in November 2019.

Research found AppleTV+ subscribers regularly binge-watch TV series more than any other service — 78% versus an industry streaming average of 61%.

Kantar also says Apple TV+ is making slow gains on industry leader Netflix. In June, it had more heavy users (37%), measured in hours per day, than Netflix (24%), but fewer medium-intensity users — 17% for Apple TV+ versus 31% for Netflix.

“AppleTV+ usage month by month tends to be jumpy, reflecting their reliance on key titles to drive engagement, while Netflix is very steady,” says Kantar.

Recently, Apple TV+ won a number of Emmy awards for its comedy “Ted Lasso.”

Kantar says Apple TV+ “net promoter score” -- a “measure of subscriber advocacy” -- is also improving now at a best-ever 34 number. By way of comparison, the more-established Netflix is at 51.

One key downside for Apple TV+: “While AppleTV+ has taken big strides, risks remain. Churn is high (12% in July) when benchmarked against the competition.”

Apple is also slowly transitioning out of its initial free trial period, “translating into more paying subscribers in August, 54% [who] were paying for the service, up from 50% in June.”

Kantar results are from a quarterly survey from 20,000 U.S. respondents and 12,000 U.K. respondents in longitudinal panels.

Kantar says data is based on insights gleaned on digital subscriptions from consideration, evaluation, intention to purchase, post-purchase usage, satisfaction/dissatisfaction, advocacy, loyalty and switching.