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Players examined in the goetzpartners Content Efficiency Index include private and public TV
channels (FTA and broadcast/pay TV segments) as well as global and regional streaming platforms
(streaming segment). The graphic representation of the index reveals that overall, most streaming
providers reach above-average content efficiency. In comparison, the majority of the linear
channels is operating in the below-average content efficiency range. From this we can conclude that
streaming platforms are able to attract more consumers than linear TV channels for the same
increase in investment. This insight confirms the hypothesis that the overall market is shifting
toward digital channels, which manage to provide content in a more appealing way (in terms of
depth, availability, new releases, etc.).
However, figure 4 shows that in terms of absolute
spending, there are large differences among all
players. For example, TV Now, which shows a
growth of over 50% in terms of its audience, has
the smallest absolute spending of all players. On
the other hand, Netflix is spending more than
twice as much on content as its closest competitor in terms of absolute numbers. Thus, it is also important to keep the absolute numbers in
mind when comparing the individual players.
Taking a closer look at the individual groups,
all global streaming platforms show growth
rates of at least 15% in terms of audience
growth.
Disney+ has the highest audience growth rate overall at almost 280%, which can be
explained by its novelty to the market, as it
was only launched in late 2019, and its
decision to enter the fairly unchartered kids and family segment within the streaming market. Furthermore, Disney+ has a very broad portfolio of existing content that it
utilized for its strong audience growth.
Additionally, the timing of the launch of
Disney+ right before the start of the Covid-19
pandemic also accelerated that growth.