Two-thirds of specialty streaming subscriptions are through Amazon
Two-thirds of specialty streaming subscriptions are through Amazon
New data from Antenna shows that specialty streamers are on the rise, and distrbution platforms like Prime Video are helping that rise.
Have you tried a niche streaming service like Acorn TV, Crunchyroll, or [The Wonder Project] in the past year? You’re hardly alone. Antenna’s new State of Subscriptions study on the specialty SVOD landscape reveals that there are now 42 million specialty streaming subscriptions active, and that distribution hubs like Prime Video have been instrumental to their growth in popularity.
Key Details:
- Making their mark: Specialty streamers are outpacing premium subscription growth.
- Prime territory: Sixty-seven percent of specialty SVOD additions are billed through Amazon.
- Multiple fronts: Roku and YouTube TV’s Primetime Channels are also helping boost specialty services.
Antenna’s report defines a specialty streamer as “smaller services that target specific audiences with more focused programming strategies.” Year-over-year growth for specialty subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) services has hit 14% as of the second quarter of 2026 — higher than premium streamers like Disney+ and Netflix, which are growing at a 6% pace.
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Specialty streamers saw net growth in nine of the past ten quarters. In Q2, such services added 1.8 million net customers, and their churn rate is stabilizing at around 7%. The churn rate for premium streamers is still lower at around 4%, but specialty churn has declined from 9% in Q3 2025.
Viewers who have never tried specialty streamers before are continuing to be converted to the cause. The share of total streaming customers who have transacted with specialty SVODs hit 35% by the end of Q2 2026. That number represents growth of 55% from the second quarter of 2024.
So, who’s selling the most specialty streaming subscriptions? It’s Amazon, and by a wide margin. Antenna’s data shows that 67% of all specialty SVOD gross additions are billed through Amazon as of the end of Q2. The Roku Channel comes in second, accounting for 13% of gross specialty additions.
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The data also delves more deeply into how specialty streamers have been growing in popularity on The Roku Channel and YouTube TV Primetime Channels. Gross additions of specialty streamers on Roku are up 59% as of the second quarter of 2026, and up 47% on YouTube TV Primetime Channels. Platforms like AMC+, Crunchyroll, and MGM+ lead in new additions.
The low-cost, ad-free streaming service Howdy continues to make inroads with subscribers, per Antenna. The streamer had around 1 million subscribers by the end of March, but Antenna finds that the service has seen 3 million sign-ups through June. The streamer has a 39% subscriber survival rate after 10 months, eight points higher than the specialty SVOD benchmark.
The data demonstrates how much of a godsend aggregation platforms like Prime Video and The Roku Channel have been for niche streamers. They give such platforms excellent exposure, and sometimes offer bundles of specialty services that make it more cost-effective to try several at once. They also allow subscribers to easily track and manage their subscriptions all on the same platform.
Prime Video
Prime Video is a subscription video streaming service that includes on-demand access to 10,000+ movies, TV shows, and Prime Originals like “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” “Jack Ryan,” “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “The Boys,” and more. Subscribers can also add third-party services like Max, Showtime, STARZ, and dozens more with Prime Video Channels. Prime Video also offers exclusive live access to NFL Thursday Night Football.