Arrival of Max to challenge Paramount+ as fastest growing streamer

New research indicates cost-of-living pressures are contributing to consumers switching their streaming subscriptions to ad-supported options.

Bella Ramsey in a scene from season two of The Last Of Us, the most-watched title on Max. Picture: Max

Streaming video customers are showing an increased appetite to sit through advertising when faced with the option of having to pay to go ad free.

This is one of the key findings in the latest Entertainment on Demand (EoD) data from Kantar.

The research company’s consumer insights director Andrew Northedge also shared some insights into what Max could be expecting after its recent launch.

Twelve months ago ad-supported streaming services were in 12.5 per cent of all households. That number has surged to 30 per cent. The lower cost of accessing content that carries ads is more attractive as households face cost-of-living challenges, including ballooning costs of ad-free streaming services.

The latest Kantar EoD data covers the period January to March (Q1) 2025. Australia’s biggest streaming platform, Netflix, now has 60 per cent of all new subscribers joining its ad-supported tier.

Thanks to lower-cost ad tiers, the average number of streaming subscriptions per household has increased from 3.0 to 3.3 across the past 12 months. Nearly one-third of households have five or more subscriptions.

Kantar has reported Paramount+ continues to be the fastest-growing platform with the highest share of new subscriptions. Prime Video was second and AppleTV+ third.

The most-viewed titles in the quarter were Prime Video’s Reacher and Paramount+’s 1923. The most recent series of each were released midway through February.

Viewers also warmed to Landman on Paramount+. The Texas oilfield drama had echoes of 1980s hit series Dallas. Subscribers taking part in the survey mentioned the two new Paramount+ series by name (they are both from producer Taylor Sheridan) and the perceived value for money of the $6.99 ad tier.

Negative feedback about Paramount+ reported by Kantar was a poor experience for the user interface which contributes to a high churn rate of 21 per cent. Netflix continues to have the lowest churn rate with 8 per cent.

The quarter was the last that Binge will be offering subscribers content from HBO and parent Warner Bros Discovery. Kantar reported that the new bonus sports content available on Binge was yet to have much impact.

Reasons for this included lack of customer awareness and the fact that nearly a third of Binge customers also pay for sports streamer Kayo.

Regarding the Max launch, Mr Northedge noted it was still too early for data, but explained: “While we don’t have a local view on awareness of Max yet, we know when Max launched in France last year it achieved 18 per cent share of new subscribers in its launch period with content having previously been available on Canal+.

“We expect the Australian launch to be similar due to high awareness of WBD/HBO content on Foxtel/Binge, however there may be a lack of understanding what the Max brand encompasses initially with no reference to HBO anymore.”

Michael Brooks, general manager ANZ for Warner Bros. Discovery, told The Australian last month that he was hoping Max would eventually be ranked in the top three of streaming services in Australia. That could take some time, with Kantar research indicating 59 per cent of streamers feel there are too many paid video subscription options available.

With the launch of Max being so dependent on season two of The Last of Us, the good news is that the first season ranked number one as most-enjoyed content during its launch quarter.

In a statement this week, Mr Brooks added: “Max has had a strong start since launch.

“HBO content has always been incredibly popular here and is driving strong viewership, with The Last of Us currently the most watched title on the service. Other top-performing titles since launch include The White Lotus, Game of Thrones, Twisters, The Pitt and The Big Bang Theory.”