Parrot Analytics SVOD platform trend reports reveal which SVOD’s digital original series are appealing most to audiences in a market during these three months, dive deeper into how this looks for the dynamic action and adventure genre and shed light on the overall size of digital original series within the entire market.

The key questions investigated in this report:

1. Are British audiences demanding more linear or more digital content?

2. Which SVOD’s original series are demanded most by British audiences and how is this evolving?

3. In the action and adventure genre, which SVOD’s original series are demanded most by British audiences and how is this evolving?

Are British audiences demanding more linear or digital content?

• 15.1% of UK audience demand during April to June 2020 is expressed for a digital original series. A much larger proportion, 84.9%, is for a linear series.

• This is different from the global ratio for the same period, which is 17.2% digital original and 82.8% linear. In the UK, linear series are comparatively more effective at capturing audience attention.

• On an average per-unit basis, a digital original series does outperform a linear series. Digital originals make up 13.5% of series in the market by number, yet account for 15.1% of all demand.

Which SVOD’s original series are most in-demand by British audiences?

• With 51.2%, Netflix has the largest demand share in Britain for digital original series. However, this share of the UK market is slightly under-indexing against the global demand share for Netflix original series of 56.7%.

• Unusually, global Top 5 platform DC Universe is not one of the Top 5 UK platforms. UK audiences express more demand for Disney+ originals, which have a 6.5% demand share.

• Similarly, the UK’s 5.6% demand share for series from Apple TV+ over-indexes compared to Apple TV+’s 4.2% global demand share. The most in-demand Apple TV+ series for these three months is Defending Jacob.

The next chart shows how the demand shares for these five platforms have evolved over the past 12 months:

• British digital original demand shares were altered significantly in November 2019. This month was when Apple TV+ arrived in the UK and when Disney+ launched globally.

• A second increase in demand for Disney+ originals occurred in April 2020, following the service’s UK launch at the end of March.

• These events impacted Netflix’s demand share strongly, with the platform dropping below 50% (48.5%) share in Dec 2019. However, it quickly recovered and has been mostly steady at around 51% since then.

• Over the most recent three months, the demand share for Hulu originals has risen from 9.4% in April to 10.3% in June. British audience demand for newly released animated sitcom Solar Opposites is one of the forces driving this trend.

Which SVOD’s Action and Adventure original series are demanded most by British audiences?

• Series originally released on the American DC Universe platform have the largest demand share of action and adventure originals in the United Kingdom. The most in-demand of these series is Harley Quinn, which airs on E4 in the UK.

• UK audiences express a 19.7% share of demand for Disney+ series in this genre, far higher than the global average share of 12.6%. This is likely due to the fact Disney+ officially launched in market immediately before these three months, opening legal access to buzzy titles like The Mandalorian.

• Netflix’s 24.9% UK demand share is significantly less than their global average of 32.2 in this genre.

The next chart shows how the action and adventure demand shares for these five platforms have evolved over the past 12 months:

• The 12-month demand share chart shows that the DC Universe demand share has increased dramatically. Driven by shows like DC’s Stargirl and Doom Patrol, the platform’s share has grown from 23.0% in April to 37.5% in June.

• This DC Universe growth has affected the demand shares of other platforms. Netflix’s share proportionately has resisted this trend the best, dropping only 1.9% since April 2020

• Further back, at the start of 2020 the demand share for CBS All Access originals showed strong growth, peaking at 14.2% share in March. High demand from British audiences for Star Trek: Picard was one of the drivers of this trend.

This report is intended as a high-level overview of the SVOD market in this country. To access more granular platform demand trends for specific platforms, genres, timeframes and more, contact your Parrot Analytics representative.

For more information, check out the most up-to-date United Kingdom television industry overview.