Netflix (NFLX +0.16%) has seen record-setting viewer growth since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. The streaming giant added an unprecedented 25.86 million subscribers in the first six months of 2020, nearly as many as it added in all of 2019. This left many wondering if the newly added customers would remain once the pandemic has passed. A recent analyst survey indicates that most Netflix subscribers plan to stick around.
The news drove Netflix shares to all-time highs, and the stock was up more than 11% as of this writing.
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Piper Sandler analyst Yung Kim conducted a survey that sought to answer the question. The responses on the questionnaire suggest that not only will Netflix keep the vast majority of its viewers post-pandemic, but customers also seem ready to pay more for the service.
The analyst asked 1,000 respondents, "What video services will you use after stay-at-home rules ease?" Netflix led the pack with 41% choosing it. The streaming leader was followed by Amazon's (AMZN +0.30%) Prime Video at 28%, while cable TV made a showing with 19% of respondents. Newer additions to the streaming fray also made an appearance, as Disney's (DIS +0.83%) Disney+ was named by 17%, and AT&T's (T +3.69%) HBO Max garnered 7%.
The analyst conducted a separate survey of 600 people and found that the majority of Netflix subscribers think the service is a good value and would even stick around if the company were to raises prices. While acknowledging that he doesn't expect a price increase this year, Kim said that subscribers would be willing to pay about $2.20 more per month, down from $2.40 in a similar survey in February. He pointed out that a higher percentage of subscribers are now willing accept a price increase, causing a dip in the amount of the acceptable increase.
