By now, most people are aware of online on-demand TV services like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and Disney Plus. With new streaming services seeming to be launched every month, there are now options for every type of TV consumer, with niche services for things like documentaries or anime as well as services designed to cater to every taste with movies, classic TV series, international shows, and brand-new original programming.
You may well use some of these services yourself, or like some people, have moved away from watching conventional broadcast television at all in favor of streaming for all your video entertainment. However, just how much market penetration do these services actually have in the US? Is there still room for growth, or are streaming services now just competing to take market share away from each other?
Popularity of Streaming Services in the US in 2022
According to data research by Statista, 83% of US consumers had a subscription to at least one online on-demand video streaming service in 2022. This is up a huge amount from 2015 when it was just 52%. The most popular is Netflix, which has over 70 million subscribers. Netflix is, however, having issues with growth and has even lost subscribers in some quarters, probably as a result of greater competition and price increases. However, compared with its US competitors, Netflix does have a bigger global market presence, whereas many other platforms have not yet moved into many of the lucrative foreign markets yet.
Why Subscribers Grew – Infrastructure and Technology
There are many reasons why so many more people now have subscriptions to Netflix and other services than in 2015, but a key one is that more people now have fast enough internet connections to stream video comfortably without pauses or buffering. Fast broadband from internet providers in Sun City AZ, for example, is essential to really enjoy streaming movies or TV at home, and the rise in internet enabled smart TVs has probably also contributed.
Why Subscribers Grew – Media Industry Investment
Another reason why more people are moving away from TV and movie theaters and having subscription streaming services as their primary source of films and series is that many big companies in the industry are now focusing on their streaming offerings, and some of the most talked about content are only available to stream.
Netflix has been producing original content for years now, including some major hits like Squid Game, and Disney has created hit Marvel and Star Wars spin-off series that are exclusive to Disney Plus, as well as some of their movies like the live-action Mulan going straight to the platform. Amazon Prime has been trying to capture a bigger audience with spin-offs from Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones. As the media’s biggest brands focus on streaming more and more, naturally consumers follow.
The rise in streaming has been dramatic and has changed the landscape when it comes to TV media. It will be interesting to see how the market develops as more streaming services enter the fray.
