You stream, I stream, we all stream…at least that’s what it seems. Back in August 2022, Nielsen reported that streaming platforms had, for the first time, bested both cable and broadcast TV in total viewership. And just this past March, a study by Cordcutting.com revealed that 93% of American adults — 240.2 million! — use at least one streaming service, with the average viewer logging into four different platforms. That’s a lot of shared passwords, y’all.
Leading the pack, not surprisingly, is Netflix. As the O.G. streamer, the DVD rental service turned home of Stranger Things, Wednesday and Ozark has wisely curated a deep library of edgy foreign content, buzzworthy scripted originals and true-crime documentaries that continually keep it in the pop-culture conversation.
(Credit: Netflix)
A close second is Prime Video, which has amassed a devoted following thanks to its equally noteworthy bench of titles, including the soon-to-conclude The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, The Boys, and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. The first-runner-up also gets a nice boost from being included in Amazon’s Prime membership.
That is followed by Hulu, with The Handmaid’s Tale and Only Murders in the Building; the service is currently celebrating its 15th anniversary in the streaming game and is the only one in the Top 8 to offer a live TV option to subscribers.
Rounding things out are relative newbies Disney+, HBO Max, Peacock, Paramount+, Apple TV+, and YouTube TV (the only other ranker that offers live TV), with a single-digit share going to ESPN+ (sports). However, if the impending joint service of HBO Max and Discovery+ were counted together, that new, still-unnamed platform could easily inch up the list with a possible 48% total of combined users. So watch your back, Baby Yoda!
This is an excerpt from TV Insider’s May issue. For more in-depth, reported coverage devoted to streaming shows from the publishers of TV Guide Magazine, pick up the issue, currently on newsstands or purchase it online here. You can also subscribe to TV Insider Magazine here now.