Prime Video Continues to Best Netflix in US Subscriptions; 89% of Broadband Households Are Streaming
New data revealed by Parks Associates shows that while Netflix may be the top global streaming platform, it doesn’t have the most subscribers of any domestic service.
Netflix had a stupendous third quarter of 2023. The streamer added 8.7 million global customers, bringing its total to 247.15M overall. It also had its best domestic quarter since 2020; in the United States and Canada (whose subscriber numbers Netflix always reports together), the streamer has 77.32M users, adding 1.75M in Q3.
- New data from Parks Associates estimates Prime Video has more domestic subscribers than Netflix.
- Parks’ numbers also show that YouTube Premium has cracked the top 10 of streaming services for the first time.
- Eighty-nine percent of broadband homes now have at least one streaming service, and 29% of homes have eight services or more.
Who Has the Most Streaming Customers in the United States?
Despite Netflix’s lofty subscriber numbers, the market intelligence firm Parks Associates says it’s not number one in the U.S. in terms of customers. That title goes to Amazon’s Prime Video, which does not publicly report its own subscriber tally. Nevertheless, Parks estimates that it has more than 77.32M customers than Netflix has in the United States, no doubt aided by the fact that Amazon Prime subscribers get Prime Video included in their subscription.
The news must be encouraging to Prime Video executives, especially as the service prepares to incorporate ads for its millions of subscribers. Starting next year, Prime Video will convert its current ad-free tier to ad-supported, and introduce a new, more expensive plan without commercials for customers to upgrade to. That scheme means the large domestic streaming audience Amazon has will all be converted to ad-supported customers unless they cancel. Ad-supported users bring in considerably more average revenue per user (ARPU) than ad-free customers, which is why some estimates show Amazon could make as much as $3 billion in additional revenues from Prime Video once ads launch.
Another interesting piece of information from the Parks report is the fact that YouTube Premium is now in the top 10 of U.S. streaming platforms in terms of subscribers, beating out services like MGM+, AMC+, and others. YouTube has always been popular in among American audiences, but the fact that so many users are willing to pay to skip ads on the service shows their commitment to using it as a primary source of entertainment.
Free Streaming Platforms Continue to Rise
Parks’ data also shows that ad-supported streaming platforms are continuing to gather steam. Eighty-nine percent of households with internet subscribe to at least one streaming service, and 29% are subscribed to eight over-the-top (OTT) services or more.
But how is that possible in an era where streaming costs continue to rise and budgets are shrinking? The numbers from Parks show that 41% of broadband-equipped households have watched an ad-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) service in the past 30 days. The use of free streaming platforms like Pluto TV and The Roku Channel are clearly helping customers fill in their entertainment gaps while saving money.
“The market for subscription services is saturated, and consumers continue to experiment with ad-supported services as they evaluate their budgets,” said Eric Sorensen, Director of the Streaming Video Tracker at Parks Associates.
One survey from August found that 75% of internet households use at least one free streaming platform, and another recent study found that 40% of customers were spending more time watching their favorite free service. The numbers paint a clear picture of a streaming audience who wants more content but at an affordable price.
As the cost of ad-free streaming continues to rise, it’s reasonable to expect that these platforms will see an even wider increase in adoption. Prime Video will likely funnel its customers toward Amazon’s free streaming platform Freevee as it integrates ads onto its service next year, hoping to keep users as deep in its streaming ecosystem as possible.
Amazon Prime Video
Amazon 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 Amazon Prime Video Channels. Prime Video also offers exclusive live access to NFL Thursday Night Football.