Who Won the Streaming Wars in April 2021?
It’s one thing to know how many bodies are sitting in front of how many televisions to watch however many shows at any given time. But on top of every one of those bodies (or beside them if you’re lying down on the couch — no judgment) is a mind bursting with important ideas: ideas about the shows the person is watching, why they’re watching it, and how it’s similar to or different from the dozens of other shows they love. And Watchworthy is the place you can find cold hard data on all those opinions.
In just 30 seconds, our Watchworthy recommendation app gets to know your taste in TV and gives every show a “Worthy Score” specifically for you: the higher a given show’s Worthy Score, the more likely it is you will enjoy that show. Over the month of April, we tracked each time a new show (premiered in 2019 or later) received a Worthy Score of 70% or higher, then organized all those shows according to network. The resulting analysis allowed us to determine which network’s content is being recommended to the most users — in other words, it told us which of the major streaming platforms is currently winning the Streaming Wars. Here are the shows and streaming platforms that were most Watchworthy in April 2021.
Which Streaming Platforms Were Most Watchworthy?
HBO Max started to bear down on all-time champion Netflix again in April, reclaiming a good portion of the share it lost in March and putting a comfortable 12% margin between itself and third place. But more interesting than the top performers this month are the new entries: Apple TV+ stormed onto the Streaming Wars leaderboards in April, thanks to a surprisingly strong showing by The Morning Show. And although it was less competitive than Apple, Paramount+ also managed to register its first appearance on the leaderboards this month, with original shows Picard and B Positive both nabbing a statistically significant number of high recommendations. Though it’s taken some time for the competitive landscape to form, it’s clear that the Streaming Wars are no longer the three-way battle they once were — there’s now a wide range of different platforms all making a viable play for viewers’ subscription dollars.
Netflix Is Still #1: Though Netflix is down this month, a significant silver lining for the streaming giant is the sudden drop of Disney’s The Mandalorian from the #1 spot. The Witcher was the most Watchworthy show of the month, suggesting the fantasy series is building a broader audience ahead of its second season. Newcomer Bridgerton indicated that it could become a major source of strength for Netflix by landing in the Top 20 its very first month on the Watchworthy leaderboard.
Return of the ‘Max’: After a disappointing March, HBO Max pushed back into a more competitive position last month thanks in large part to the continued strength of Euphoria, though The Outsider and Watchmen also played major roles in the service’s performance. Euphoria outperformed other soapy teen dramas like Outer Banks, while Watchmen did better than other superhero ensembles like The Umbrella Academy and The Boys, even though Watchmen’s first and only season ended in 2019. The reason? HBO’s branding is synonymous with prestige TV. Even though many of its original shows have themes in common with competitors, viewers trust that HBO will be able to deliver the highest possible quality of whatever genre of television they’re seeking.
Apple TV+’s Triumphant Entry in Third: Behind Apple TV+’s sudden appearance on the leaderboards is The Morning Show, the sixth most Watchworthy show in April. It’s hard to say why exactly this critically lauded 2019 drama did so well this month, though it could be that anticipation for the show’s second season is building — some reporters observed that many of the 2021 offerings Apple teased in a trailer during a TCA press tour in February have already been released. But five other shows on Apple contributed to its April position on the Watchworthy leaderboard, including For All Mankind, Home Before Dark, and Ted Lasso.
Disney+ Continues to Build Momentum: Disney’s share of high recommendations technically shrank this month compared with March, but it lost third place to Apple by .001%, even though The Mandalorian fell from #1 to #12 this month. WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier are steadily building their audiences month over month, the latter in particular. As anticipation builds for Loki, we could see Disney become more competitive with Netflix and HBO Max in the coming months.
Amazon Continues to Slide: The entry of two new competitors to the leaderboards this month made things harder for all the streaming services who were already there, which partially explains Amazon Prime Video’s continued struggles. But despite the encouraging numbers put up by Upload, Prime’s original dramedy series, it seems Amazon’s streaming service has simply replaced the crutch it had in The Boys with another. Prime Video needs to build a stable of consistently engaging content rather than rely on one top performer each month.
Hulu Seeks More Buzz Around Originals: Hulu draws plenty of subscribers with its library of licensed content, but many of its most recent originals are still growing their audiences. Only some episodes of those shows that won high recommendations this month — Prodigal Son and Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist — are available on Hulu, while both series are available in their entirety to subscribers of other platforms. The only Hulu original that registered a statistically significant number of Watchworthy recommendations in April was Little Fires Everywhere. Despite anticipation for a fourth season of Handmaid’s Tale, newer original content like Solar Opposites and The Hardy Boys just isn’t getting the attention Hulu needs to compete.
Peacock Is Sitting in Seventh Place — but for How Long?: Though Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist did climb up the Watchworthy leaderboards to #11 this month, the fact that it’s Peacock’s only performer meant it didn’t translate into big results for the show’s streaming platform. But Zoey’s growing share of recommendations, the much-hyped release of original shows like Girls5Eva and Rutherford Falls, and the dwindling numbers put up by established competitors Hulu and Amazon could combine to bring Peacock to a better place in May.
Paramount+ Premieres: So far, Picard and B Positive are the only shows that have registered as Watchworthy. It seems like Paramount’s strategy has been to absorb existing, popular shows, so it’s unclear whether or not the streaming service will be competitive in terms of more recent offerings in the months to come.
Looking Ahead: the Most Anticipated Shows of 2021
Right now, it looks like the long game being played by Disney+ — buying franchises like Star Wars and Marvel Films and using them to create original TV content — is going to start paying off in a big way in the coming months. If you take a look at our list of The Most Anticipated New TV Shows of 2021 and exclude those series that have already premiered, seven of the Top 10 shows will be released on Disney+, while one belongs to HBO Max and another will be available through Apple’s premium content service. Amazon will own the rights to the #2 most anticipated show of the year, but given the first season’s incredible price tag, this older streaming service has put about $465 million worth of eggs in one basket.
Loki (Disney+)
Lord of the Rings (Amazon)
What If…? (Disney+)
Hawkeye (Disney+)
The Book of Boba Fett (Disney+)
Ms. Marvel (Disney+)
Justice League Dark (HBO Max)
Star Wars: The Bad Batch (Disney+)
Foundation (Apple TV+)
Star Wars: Visions (Disney+)
