What is each streaming service asking for for 2025 holidays?
What is each streaming service asking for for 2025 holidays?
We’re all hoping for a great gift or two this holiday season; what are streamers looking for?
Is Greg Peters having sugar plum dreams about HBO Max? Does Bob Iger have “Hulu on Disney+” wrapping paper for all his presents this year? With Christmas just around the corner, streaming services and their parent companies are compiling holiday wishlists of their own, and some of them have got pretty big items to ask for in 2025.
After some of the wishes we thought streamers were making last year came true, we thought it would be a worthwhile exercise to repeat in 2025. See what we believe top streaming services are wishing for for the holidays this year below.
What are top streamers wishing for during the 2025 holidays?
Apple TV: A silver lining from MLS deal
It didn’t take long for Apple’s 10-year deal with MLS to go sour. An agreement to air all MLS regular season and playoff games on the MLS Season Pass streaming service that was first signed in 2022 was announced to be ending in 2029 in November, and though both sides have been vague on specifics like viewership, it’s pretty clear that neither is happy with the results so far.
In fact, in 2026, all MLS games will shift to the Apple TV streaming service, becoming available there at no additional cost instead of being held behind the MLS Season Pass paywall. The decision has already been made to mothball the agreement, but if Apple TV can see improved engagement or a boost in subscribership because of MLS games, it can at least salvage some kind of silver lining from the costly deal.
Apple TV
Apple TV (formerly known as Apple TV+) is a subscription video streaming service for $14.99 per month, offering a growing slate of original series, films, documentaries, and specials. Unlike other platforms that combine licensed titles with originals, Apple TV is built entirely around exclusive programming, making it the home of critically acclaimed hits such as “Ted Lasso,” “Severance,” “The Morning Show,” and “Silo.” Its lineup continues to expand with award-winning dramas, comedies, family-friendly shows, and blockbuster original films like “CODA,” which won the Academy Award for Best Picture.
Disney+: Succeed with app overhaul
It’s finally happened. Disney officially owns 100% of Hulu, and that means it can move forward with a plan it has likely had for years: fully integrating Hulu onto the Disney+ app. As announced in August, Disney will officially make this move at an unspecified date in 2026.
Such integrations can be messy affairs; merging tech stacks, transferring metadata, all of it can cause significant headaches for a company. Disney engineers have to work hard to make sure they don’t bungle the rollout, but they do have the advantage that a wide selection of Hulu content has been available on Disney+ for well over a year. They still have to take care to make sure the rollout is completed successfully if they want to keep customers engaged, however.
Disney+
Disney+ is a video streaming service with over 13,000 series and films from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic, The Muppets, and more. It is available in 61 countries and 21 languages. It is notable for its popular original series like “The Mandalorian,” “Ms. Marvel,” “Loki,” “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” and “Andor.”
HBO Max: Seal the deal with Netflix
HBO Max might well be under different ownership at this time in 2026. Its parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, is moving through the merger and acquisition process, and has officially accepted a bid worth nearly $83 billion for its movie and TV studios, as well as its streaming library from Netflix.
Paramount Skydance was also hot after WBD, and has undertaken a hostile takeover bid to try and stop the Netflix acquisition. WBD has its own reasons for preferring the Netflix deal, however, and in its perfect world, it will quash Paramount’s takeover attempt, move the Netflix deal past regulators, and have the business done by the 2026 holiday season.
HBO Max
HBO Max is a subscription video streaming service that gives access to the full HBO library and exclusive Max Originals. There are hubs for content from TLC, HGTV, Food Network, Discovery, TCM, Cartoon Network, Travel Channel, ID, and more. Watch hit series like “The Last of Us,” “House of the Dragon,” “Succession,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” and more. Within HBO Max, B/R Sports allows users to watch live NBA, MLB, NHL, March Madness, and NASCAR events.
Hulu: Wrap up operations cleanly
As discussed above, Disney will fully integrate Hulu into the Disney+ app in 2026. While viewers will still be able to sign up for standalone Hulu subscriptions, there will no longer be any reason for a separate Hulu app. Winding that app down is no small feat, and the engineers responsible for maintaining it are likely in some doubt about the future of their employment. Hopefully, Disney does right by the employees who have done their best to keep Hulu running for nearly two decades.
Hulu
Hulu is a video streaming service that gives access to thousands of full seasons of exclusive series, hit movies, kids shows, and Hulu Originals like “Only Murders in the Building,” and “The Handmaid’s Tale.”
Paramount+: Pivot to a new deal
The Paramount Skydance brass knows full well that just because a hostile takeover attempt has been launched, that doesn’t mean it will succeed. As proof, after Skydance and Paramount had agreed to a merger deal in 2024, Skydance had to watch as Paramount received last-minute offers came in outside the pre-set time period established for accepting bids.
Assuming that Paramount’s hostile takeover attempt of WBD fails, the company will have options. Paramount’s ownership clearly recognizes its position in the entertainment world and the need to grow if it wants to be one of the streamers left standing when consolidation settles down in the industry. That will mean pivoting to another acquisition opportunity, such as a purchase of STARZ or AMC, or a bigger swing like a merger of streaming assets with Comcast.
Paramount Plus
Paramount+ is a subscription video streaming service that includes on-demand access to 40,000+ TV show episodes from BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., and more. Get free access with a Walmart+ subscription.
Paramount+ includes “1883,” “Tulsa King,” “Star Trek: Discovery,” “SpongeBob SquarePants,” and “PAW Patrol.” Subscribers can watch the NFL, college football, The Masters, college basketball, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, Serie A, and NWSL. The service also offers the option to watch your live CBS affiliate. The upgraded ad-free package includes premium movies and shows from Showtime.
Peacock: Take the spotlight successfully
In November 2024, Comcast announced its plans to spin off most of its cable assets to a separate company, while Bravo, NBC, the Peacock streaming service, and the Universal TV and movie studios would continue under the NBCUniversal banner. That split has taken steps forward since, and the cable assets company named Versant should be spun off completely by 2026.
Comcast clearly wants to emphasize Peacock and the other assets it has kept, but Peacock has yet to take the major step forward that the company has been hoping for. But the company has struggled to grow much further than 40 million subscribers, and while it has grown closer to profitability, it hasn’t hit that metric reliably yet. Peacock needs to take a step forward next year if it really wants to justify its important place in Comcast’s future entertainment plans.
Peacock
Peacock is a subscription video streaming service from NBCUniversal that includes original shows, blockbuster movies, and classic television series. Peacock is home to “Yellowstone,” “The Office,” and original hits like “Poker Face” and “Bel-Air.” You can also watch live sports and NBC programming, including the NFL, MLB, WWE, the Olympics, the Premier League, NASCAR, the French Open, college football and basketball, and the PGA Tour. Premium Plus subscribers can stream their local NBC feed in all 210 markets.
Prime Video: Add Disney+ or Netflix to subscriptions
Prime Video may not be regularly profitable yet either, but its parent company, Amazon, generates so much revenue from retail and other sources that reaching that benchmark isn’t as critical for the streaming service. With live NBA games joining the NFL on Prime Video in 2025, the streamer is clearly relying on live sports to help it continue growing engagement going forward.
Viewers can also add supplemental subscriptions to other streaming services on Prime Video, and the platform added a key competitor in 2025. Peacock launched on Prime Video in August, and the next dominoes to fall could be Disney streamers or Netflix. I really doubt Netflix would ever consent to a distribution deal with Prime Video, but could we see Disney+ or Hulu subscriptions become available through the platform? Getting one of these would be a huge win for Prime Video, and even if it may not be terribly likely, what’s a holiday wishlist for if not to wish?
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.