Penetration rates of selected subscription video-on-demand services in the U.S. 2022

Netflix remains the most used video streaming service in the U.S., however, its dominance has been challenged in an overcrowded market. A few years ago, half of its competitors, such as Disney+, Apple TV+, and Peacock, did not exist. A survey from September 2022 found that over three in four U.S. households had a Netflix account, closely followed by Amazon Prime Video, with 72 percent of respondents stating to subscribe to the service. In comparison, Discovery+ was only used by nine percent of households.

Shift to ad-supported content

The subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) market has recently been struggling in order to retain customers. Not only Netflix lost a substantial number of subscribers, but also Disney+ and Hulu, especially in the saturated U.S. market. As streaming viewers look to cut costs, they canceled several expensive SVOD services and signed up for cheaper options. From 2019 to 2022, the share of subscriber additions to lower-cost ad-supported subscription services jumped to 32 percent. Meanwhile, ad-free subscription tiers were falling out of favor.

Subscription cycling

With increasing subscription fees and so many SVOD platforms and content to choose from, many consumers have found another way to save money but also keep up with all the new TV shows and movies – subscription cycling. According to a survey from 2023, 41 percent of respondents in the U.S. have signed up for a service to watch a specific TV series, up from a share of 36 percent in the previous year. Streaming services with a small content catalog, like Apple TV+ and Paramount+, were most likely to be watched for only one program.