Netflix is the most downloaded app worldwide, but YouTube Kids is the champion on hours watched

And Disney Plus is skyrocketing in the U.S. The data is from a Apptopia and Braze new report

09.Apr.2020 15:16 BRT
UPDATED 19.Jul.2020 19:39 BRT

The pioneer Netflix still rules the global streaming market when it comes to downloads, but YouTube Kids has the larger volume of hours watched, and Disney Plus is skyrocketing in the U.S. A direct effect of the isolation measures due to the Covid-19 pandemic? Yes, it could be.

A new report by Apptopia and Braze, released this week, examines the streaming market after the launch of Disney’s service (it first launched in the US, Canada, and the Netherlands on November 12th), and includes charts of the most popular streaming apps for first quarter of 2020.

According to this new report, Netflix was the most downloaded streaming app in the world in the first three months of this year, followed by YouTube, with 59.1 million and 39.4 million downloads, respectively. Disney Plus, which has just launched in Europa and India, appears in the seventh position, with 17.5 million downloads.

But when it comes to the U.S., the fight between this last one and Netflix seems to be getting tougher. In the first quarter, Disney Plus had 14.1 million downloads, versus 11.9 million for Netflix, and 8.1 million for Hulu.

Apptopia and Braze report analysis suggests that Netflix may have already saturated the U.S. market, and that Disney’s streaming service is proving that it has what it takes to face the market pioneer. On Wednesday, the company revealed that already has more than 50 million subscribers.

There’s also the time that users spend in front of television and mobile devices consuming all these services. And in that regard, the champion is YouTube Kids:

Besides numbers, the report also analyse engagement strategies, measured by daily active users. The result is that the most popular brands are 21% more likely to send push notifications, and 300% more likely to send in-app messages.

Another interesting thing is the analysis about the In-App Purchase Revenue (IAP)–when users buy things through the app. Somehow, Disney Plus launch help everyone else in this matter.

When looking at the three months prior to the launch of Disney Plus compared to the three months after, the market as a whole saw an increase in in-app purchase revenue. Subscriptions make up the overwhelming majority of IAP for apps with purchasing options:

Although YouTube appears with the highest absolute revenue, Amazon Prime Video and DC Universe showed the highest growth in the analyzed period: 21% increase in in-app purchase revenue.

Other highlights:

Acquired by Fox in mid-March, Tubi was the tenth most downloaded app in the report., which indicates that consumers still put up with commercials to get some free streaming.
YouTube is still out there. “While new competitors can carve out success, the financial side of the mobile streaming market is still ruled by YouTube,” says the report. The platform remains a world leader in revenue generation via mobile.
Who? According to Apptopia and Braze report, Bigo Live is the most popular app that you’ve never heard of. It’s a “Singapore-based service similar to Twitch, that uses a combination of engaging tactics and its own internal currency to gamify live streaming. It’s the latest in the trend of Asian apps seeing success in the US”, says the report.