Entertainment App Downloads Grew 18% in Q1 2019 to Nearly Two Billion Worldwide

Entertainment apps were installed nearly two billion times in the first quarter of 2019, including 1.48 billion on Google Play and 491 million on the App Store. This was an increase of 18 percent year-over-year from 1Q18. Continue reading for the download trends from 2016 to 2019 for the App Store and Google Play. App download estimates are from Sensor Tower’s Store Intelligence platform and this is the first in a series of excerpts from our State of Entertainment Apps report, available exclusively to our enterprise customers.

Worldwide Entertainment Download Trends

The growth of entertainment app downloads was driven by Google Play. Approximately 75 percent of worldwide downloads were from Google Play in 1Q19, compared to 25 percent from the App Store. There was a much more even split in 1Q16, when Google Play represented 53 percent of entertainment app downloads and the App Store accounted for 47 percent.

App Store entertainment app downloads peaked at 585 million in 1Q18, compared to 491 million in 1Q19. This represented a 16 percent Y/Y decrease in 1Q19. Most of the decrease in entertainment installs on the App Store was attributable to China. China’s entertainment app installs fell by 76 million or 34 percent Y/Y, encompassing 80 percent of the overall worldwide decrease on the App Store.

Entertainment apps had steady growth since 2016 on Google Play, with a compound annual growth rate of 33 percent. Downloads of these apps reached nearly 1.5 billion in 1Q19, up 37 percent compared to 1Q18. Entertainment app growth was strong in many of the fastest growing markets on Google Play, such as India, Brazil, and Indonesia. Downloads increased by more than 20 million Y/Y in each of these countries, as well as in Russia and Mexico.

Top Entertainment Apps by Worldwide Downloads on the App Store and Google Play

Both YouTube and Netflix consistently ranked at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, with the most new installs worldwide each year from 2016 to 2018, as well as in Q1 2019. Hotstar, MX Player, and YouTube Kids were in the top five ranked entertainment apps worldwide in Q1 2019. YouTube Kids climbed seven spots to the No. 5 rank in Q1 2019, while ZEE5 appeared in the top 10 Entertainment apps for the first time last quarter.

Store Intelligence users can see revenue and download estimates for the above apps and countries in addition to historical performance metrics on the Sensor Tower platform. Our estimates include worldwide downloads for the App Store and Google Play between Jan. 1, 2016 and Mar. 31, 2019. Apple apps and Google pre-installed apps are excluded. We report unique installs only. Android estimates do not include third-party stores. Figures represent aggregate installs of all app versions, ex: Facebook and Facebook Lite.