Netflix Tops List of ‘Must Keep TV’ Brands for 5th Straight Year; Tubi and Pluto TV Crack Top 20
Netflix Tops List of ‘Must Keep TV’ Brands for 5th Straight Year; Tubi and Pluto TV Crack Top 20
Broadcast TV channels rate highly on the list, thanks to their ownership of marquee live sports rights.
The data is in, and for the fifth year in a row, every streaming service in the industry is being forced to look up at Netflix. Solutions Research Group (SRG) has just published its 17th annual “Must Keep TV” report, which surveys viewers to determine the most in-demand TV and streaming brands available. Netflix topped the list once again, while ABC clung to the No. 2 position it has held since 2020. But there are some fascinating new entrants on the list: Pluto TV and Tubi, both of which made it into the top 20 for the first time in this year’s report.
Key Details:
- Broadcast TV channels like ABC, CBS, and NBC had a heavy presence in the list’s top 10.
- Prime Video is the highest-ranked streaming brand other than Netflix, while Max slipped two spots.
- Free streaming services are rising in viewership as customers are increasingly tapped out by streaming price hikes.
The data from SRG shows that Tubi and Pluto TV each made impressive gains to get into the top 20 must-keep brands this year. Pluto jumped 15 spots after ranking 35 last year, and Tubi’s jump was almost as large, climbing from 28 in 2023 to 14 in 2024.
ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC all cracked the top 10 once again in 2024, continuing to demonstrate the powerful draw of live sports to broadcast TV channels. The highest cable-only channel on the list is ESPN at 9, and there are only five cable channels in the top-20 list in total.
Subscription streaming services have a greater presence on the list, with seven cracking the top 20. Prime Video is the first streamer on the list behind Netflix, likely a reflection of the popularity of Amazon’s Prime service, of which Prime Video is a benefit, but likely not the most important aspect of the subscription for most users.
Which Demographics Are Streaming Most?
SRG’s data broke down which groups were most likely to put a streaming service on their must-keep lists. Among the coveted 18-34-year-old demographic, Netflix was followed by Hulu, Prime Video, Disney+, and ABC, showing that younger viewers are maintaining an affinity for streaming versus live TV and that Disney’s expansive suite of content still resonates with younger consumers.
Men aged 18 to 49 are watching more sports channels, with ABC, ESPN, and Fox cracking the top five list, along with Netflix and Hulu. Women were more likely to pick a streamer, with seven of the top 10 must-keeps among women 25 to 54 years old being streaming services.
Latino viewers are increasingly leaning into streaming, confirming a survey from earlier this year which found that Latino audiences were more likely to stream paid or free services than the average viewer. Among Latino respondents to SRG, Netflix was the top streamer and ABC was the top network as the No. 2 must-keep brand, trailed by Hulu, Prime Video, and Disney+.
Black viewers have varied preferences and watch TV from linear and streaming sources about evenly. Tubi is fifth among Black audiences in terms of must-keep brands, according to SRG, which likely aided the service’s meteoric rise through the rankings this year. BET and ESPN are the only cable channels on the top 10 list for Black viewers.
The climb of Tubi and Pluto up must-keep lists has been accompanied by a marked increase in viewing time for the free platforms, especially Tubi. Nielsen found that in May 2023, streaming accounted for a record-high percentage of total TV viewing, and Tubi itself was responsible for 1.8% of all TV watched during the month. That’s more than streaming giants Max, Paramount+, and Peacock.
The data is yet another point showing that audiences are hitting their maximum spending level on streaming services. The rise in brand recognition and esteem for free platforms confirms that viewers are perfectly willing to shut off premium streamers if the cost grows too high, which gives streaming providers even more incentive to get new, lower-cost bundles to the marketplace.
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.