Streaming Wars, September 2020: Disney+ gains, Netflix reigns, Quibi drops

Between making Mulan available early and announcing terrific numbers, Disney+ had a great month, but it still has a tall mountain to climb:

Every month, we here at WiC update Streaming Wars, an ongoing record of the battle for your subscription dollars and your time. Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, Peacock, Amazon Prime…they all want your attention, but what are they willing to do to get it, and how can they last before one of them losing a battle so bad they’re blown off the field?

For our September update, we look back on the skirmishes of August 2020:

• Amazon Prime Video: Diego Luna’s easy-going cosmopolitan chat show Pan y Circo got some buzz. Beyond that, Amazon continued to get a steady stream of new licensed content. Points: +1
• Apple TV+: Saturday Night Live veteran Jason Sudekis got some attention for his starring role in Ted Lasso, and Mariah Carey announced an Apple TV+ Christmas special. Could be worse. Points: +1
• CBS All Access: CBS All Access is trying to move up in the world. It debuted a new original show in the form of Star Trek: The Lower Decks, made some waves by teasing its adaptation of Stephen King’s The Stand, and is considering changing its name to something like Paramount+, which it thinks sounds more formidable next to the Netflix’s and Disney+es of the world. Points: 20 (this is the first month the service has been on the chart)
• Disney+: In early August, Disney told investors it already had 57.5 million subscribers. It’s still trailing Netflix by a lot, but that’s way beyond what it expected to have by this point. Plus, the news that Mulan would be coming to the service definitely got people talking. Points: +5
• HBO Max: HBO Max had a bit of bad buzz in August about how it’s losing the Harry Potter movies and how it’s still not available on Roku. But the good outweighed it. The service got some buzz for Seth Rogan’s new movie American Pickle, announced it would host a Fresh Prince of Bel-Air reunion, and got a fresh injection of hype for the Snyder Cut courtesy of the DC FanDome, easily the most successful all-virtual con yet held. Plus, HBO Classic got some buzz for shows like Lovecraft Country, which rubbed off on its streaming sister. Points: +2
• Hulu: Hulu got in a bunch of new movies and shows in August, including several James Bond and Star Trek flicks, but not a ton in the way of buzz. Points: 0
• Netflix: With so many subscribers, it’s hard for Netflix to have a bad month. Cobra Kai is doing better on Netflix than it ever did on YouTube Red, the fifth season of Lucifer made a splash, the star-studded Project Power found its fans, and the second season of The Umbrella Academy cruised on from late July to become the most popular show on the service. Sure, Netflix got some bad press when The Last Airbender creators walked away from the live-action remake, but it’s still a hit machine. Oh, and it’s now letting viewers watch some shows and movies for free in order to attract even more subscribers. Points: +4
• Peacock: Peacock announced a new daily sports talk show, Brother From Another, and secured the rights to air a new series based on Tiger King, with Nicolas Cage as real-life large cat enthusiast/borderline crazy person Joe Exotic. New originals included Hitmen and Five Bedrooms. It’s getting some bad headlines for still not being available on Roku, but overall, it was a good enough month for Peacock to hold steady. And the price is still right at free. Points: +1
• Quibi: Quibi continues to try and find its footing in a crowded market. It introduced a feature that allows viewers to stream video on their TVs, which kind of goes against their entire model, but what is it supposed to do with so many people stuck at home? Later, it aired one of its original series, The Stranger, as a drive-in movie, which also goes against the whole reason it exists, although it did get some buzz for that. Generally, it’s still being treated as the laughing stock of the streaming world. Points: -1

Want to track the Streaming Wars in real time. Head here and you can see the progress of battle over the many months:

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