Prime Video has overtaken Netflix to become the most-subscribed-to streaming service in the United States.
Parks Associates has released the 2022 edition of its Top 10 U.S. Subscription OTT Video Services list, which compiles a list of the 10 biggest over-the-top video services domestically, based on the estimated number of subscribers through the month of September. For the first time in the history of the research firm's annual report, Netflix is not at the top of the list. Rather, Parks Associates' research finds that the Amazon-owned Prime Video is now the streaming service with the post paid subscribers in the States, with Netflix being bumped to second place. Prime Video itself had perennially come in at second from 2019 to 2021.
Rounding out the top five this year are Hulu in third place, Disney+ in fourth place and HBO Max in fifth place. ESPN+ comes in at sixth place, followed by Paramount+ in seventh, Apple TV+ in eighth, Peacock in ninth and Starz in 10th. 2022 marks the first time that Peacock has made the top 10, with Showtime being bumped off the list entirely this year. Showtime had come in at seventh place, ninth place and 10th place in 2019, 2020 and 2021, respectively.
The Streaming Wars Are Heating Up
Parks Associates' research also finds that 83 percent of broadband households are subscribed to at least one OTT service. Moreover, 23 percent of broadband households actually subscribe to nine or more services. The research firm will share other relevant findings at the Future of Video conference, which will be held at the Marina del Rey Marriott in California from Dec. 12 to Dec. 14.
"Streaming services are introducing new content, services, and partnerships that are changing how consumers interact with video," said Jennifer Kent, vice president of research at Parks Associates. "Netflix's ad-supported plan gives the company a way to win back subscribers who left over high subscription prices. It also gives Netflix a path to creating unique accounts for those who have been content to share passwords with friends and family in the past. It's an exciting time to track these services, with lots of disruption and change."
Source: Parks Associates, via Twitter