Most cord-cutters still replace cable TV services with Netflix (NFLX) — no surprise there — but Apple TV gained in an annual Morgan Stanley survey of consumers who watch Internet video.
Apple (AAPL) rolled out its fourth-generation TV hardware in late 2015, but it has shelved plans, at least temporarily, for a Web-based TV service amid stalled negotiations with programmers.
The Apple TV streaming device costs from $149 to $199. Apple customers can subscribe to Netflix, HBO and full-season sports subscriptions as well as watch movies and TV shows served up from the iTunes store.
Among those planning to cancel pay TV subscriptions, some 35% of the 2,500 consumers surveyed say they are most likely to switch to Netflix, says Morgan Stanley. That’s down from about 40.7% in the year-earlier study. Apple TV moved up to 23%, from about 17% a year earlier.
YouTube, the video website of Alphabet (GOOGL)-owned Google figures two ways in the survey, in which respondents could give more than one answer. Some 20% of respondents said they might replace pay TV with YouTube Red, the new subscription service, while 29% cited the free, ad-supported version of YouTube.
Amazon.com’s (AMZN) online video service and Hulu were tied at 27%, with Time Warner’s (TWX) HBO Now service right behind, with 25% of pay TV subscribers saying they were likely to switch to the service.
“Among those without a pay TV subscription, Netflix usage is meaningfully higher (47%) vs. Amazon Instant Video (21%), suggesting Netflix is viewed as more of a replacement service to traditional pay TV,” said the Morgan Stanley report.
“Netflix remains the leading online video platform for TV/film content in the US, with 40% of respondents saying that they use the service, still well ahead of YouTube (33%), Amazon Instant Video (22%) and Hulu Plus (14%).”
Hulu is a joint venture of 21st Century Fox Entertainment (FOXA), Walt Disney (DIS) and Comcast (CMCSA).