Spending in the Top Subscription Video on Demand Apps Grew 43% Last Quarter in the U.S.

U.S. App Store and Google Play users spent an estimated $329 million in the 10 highest earning subscription video on demand (SVOD) mobile apps last quarter, which represented growth of 43 percent over Q3 2017 according to Sensor Tower Store Intelligence data. Our data further shows that revenue from the top apps has increased 15 percent from the first quarter of this year, when consumers spent an estimated $285 million on subscriptions in them.

Netflix remained firmly at the top of the U.S. SVOD revenue ranking last quarter, seeing an estimated $132 million in consumer spending. This figure represented year-over-year Q3 growth of 78 percent from the $74 million spent in 3Q17. This is impressive growth for the service on mobile domestically, despite slowing subscriber growth here overall. Still, Netflix's year-over-year growth was outpaced by rival Hulu, which saw its mobile subscription revenue climb 86 percent to an estimated $39 million, up from $21 million in the year-ago quarter.

Of the top five U.S. SVOD mobile apps, only HBO NOW saw a decline in year-over-year Q3 revenue. The app took in $41 million last quarter, down 40 percent from the $68 million we estimate it grossed in 3Q17. While numerous factors, including competition from other services, likely contributed to this decrease, the most notable factor was undoubtedly the absence of the network's flagship content, Game of Thrones. While the seventh and penultimate season of the series aired during 3Q17, its eighth and final season will not debut until early 2019—hopefully bringing lapsed subscribers with it.

Looking at the top 10 U.S. SVOD mobile apps for last quarter, we found that the top five were the same as for all of 2017—even in ranking. This being said, two services have made considerable headway since then.

The first was YouTube TV, which ranked at No. 6 last quarter and saw an estimated $16 million in user spending on the App Store (the app does not monetize through Google's own Play store). This figure was more than five times the $3 million we estimate the app grossed on iOS in the year-ago quarter, a fact that can be attributed to its expansion into new markets since then, in addition to greater subscriber adoption.

The second standout in the top 10 was the ESPN Live Sports app, which introduced in-app subscriptions in the second quarter of this year and grossed approximately $4.6 million last quarter, a quarter-over-quarter increase of about 119 percent.

Our data also shows significant year-over-year revenue growth for the CBS app, which is the mobile portal to the network's CBS All Access service. According to our estimates, user spending in the app last quarter reached $6 million in the U.S., an increase of 50 percent over the $4 million spent in 3Q17.

Overall, the 43 percent increase in subscriber revenue witnessed by these 10 apps considerably outpaced overall App Store and Google Play revenue growth last quarter, which was up 28 percent year-over-year to almost $4.8 billion.

Note: The revenue estimates contained in this report are not inclusive of any in-app advertising. Subscription refunds are also not reflected in the provided figures.