Netflix once again tops SRG’s “Must Keep TV” list in 2022 for the fourth year in a row, solidifying its presence as the leading “Must Keep TV” brand in the United States, despite reporting its first-ever loss of subscribers in its first quarter results earlier this year. SRG’s annual research is based on 1.400 interviews across the United States with consumers aged 12 and older and conducted in late April 2022.
Paramount+ is the biggest story of the year, having jumped to the #12 position from #37 last year, while Peacock is now ranked #16, up from #29 in 2021. The only major streamer in the survey which did not make it to the Top 20 or record a significant jump in rankings was Apple TV+ which is ranked #31 in 2022, up only couple of spots from #33 last year.
In a first in 15-years of tracking, the Top 10 brands were ranked exactly in the same order in 2022 as the year previous. However, there was plenty of movement otherwise. Television brands with momentum this year, according to research, included CW (#13 this year, up five spots), AMC, Cartoon Network, A&E, TBS, ION, and SyFy.
HBO Max is in the top 10 this year as it was last year, but preference for this new streaming option cannibalized its linear brand HBO, which continues its freefall. Given a choice, American consumers clearly want streaming over linear. In fact, streamers’ success came at a cost to many cable brands including History, HGTV and Food Network – while still in the top 20, these brands declined this year to #18, #19 and #20 positions, respectively.