Netflix’s gross revenue on iOS devices grew 256 per cent year-on-year in Q1 2017 to hit $120 million, Sensor Tower reported, adding the company’s rivals including HBO Now and Hulu posted “considerably more modest growth”.

What’s more, the Netflix app, which took the top grossing position on the US App Store for the first time last December, registered steady gains in its worldwide gross revenue on iOS for the past three quarters: up 31 per cent quarter-on-quarter in Q3 2016, 34 per cent in Q4 and 47 per cent in Q1 2017.

This is as a result of Netflix rolling out its subscription service into new markets and introducing “wave after wave of critically and commercially successful exclusive content,” the report said.

Hulu’s gross in-app revenue in Q1 2017 was $19.4 million, an increase of 34 per cent year-on-year. The HBO Now app saw year-on-year growth of 6 per cent, hitting approximately $23.7 million.

“HBO has so far struggled to maintain consistent mobile revenue growth quarter-on-quarter, with its most significant gains coming as a direct result of new Game of Thrones seasons — only to decline when the program isn’t airing,” the study observed.

A report from Sensor Tower earlier this year said Netflix’s revenue growth through 2016 was a significant contributor to the entire entertainment category’s year-over-year gains on the US App Store.

Netflix began monetising through App Store subscriptions in Q4 2015, contributing $7.9 million in gross revenue to the category during that period. In Q4 2016 the amount grew to more than $58 million.