• by Wayne Friedman , August 29, 2023

Top maturing platforms for streaming and connected TV have seen a general contraction in the business -- with growth coming from smaller platforms collectively gaining share, says Comscore.

May 2023 research shows 75% of growth in video hours on connected TV (CTV) devices is from smaller platforms outside the top six platforms: Netflix, YouTube, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, and Pluto TV.

Only one platform from this group -- YouTube, including the pay TV YouTube TV service -- has grown share with a leading 28% of total video hours (up from 24% in the previous year-ago period). 

Netflix is at 21% (down from 26% in May 2022), with Hulu at 12% (vs. 14% in May 2022), Amazon Prime Video at 8% (vs. 10%), Disney+ at 3% (vs. 4%) and Pluto TV at 3% (vs. 3%).

Comscore says the “all other” category has seen overall gains, rising to 19% share from 14%.

This includes services with a 3% or less share. Overall total CTV hours in May 2023 grew 20% to 11.5 billion (compared to 9.6 billion a year ago).

Other research found that among homes with connected TV/streaming platforms, Comscore says there are now more “cord-cutters” -- those without a traditional pay TV service -- than those with one. 

Forty-four percent are “cord cutters” -- around 35 million. Another 14% are “cord nevers” -- around 11.2 million. Those CTV homes with a legacy pay TV service -- cable, satellite, telco or virtual -- are around 32.8 million.

Comscore says the broader U.S. streaming/connected TV household picture shows that homes with ad-supported and/or non-ad supported streaming platforms average over 82 million homes.

U.S. homes with CTV and ad-supported services continued to grow at a faster rate -- up 17% over the past two years to 83.7 million -- while homes with subscription ad-free subscription are up 9% to 81.1 million.

Total U.S. persons streaming on CTV now amount to 238 million -- up 4 million from the total in May 2022 -- while 73% of total U.S. homes stream on CTV.