Julia Stoll
Research expert covering TV and video media
Video streaming in the United States - statistics & facts
After years of heavily focusing on subscriber growth only, the U.S. video streaming market has recently faced the problem of not earning enough money with its business, despite constantly rising video-on-demand revenues. To become profitable or increase their profitability, streaming providers have introduced several measures, such as cutting content costs and bundling their services, as well as launching account sharing fees and ad-supported tiers.
One of the newest and fastest growing segments of the video streaming market in the U.S. is free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) featuring linear channels. Between April 2021 and November 2023, the share of weekly FAST viewers of total video users in the country more than doubled, demonstrating that services such as The Roku Channel, Samsung TV Plus, and Freevee, are unlikely to disappear anytime soon.
After a decade of a rising on-demand market, these new trends have undeniably changed the viewing experience. Consumers can now not only choose from several video streaming platforms, but also from a variety of monetization and content options.
Largest video streaming segments
While subscription video-on-demand still generates the highest revenue among the video streaming segments in the U.S., advertising-based streaming is catching up. Data from 2023 showed that consumers spent most of their connected TV viewing time on ad-supported content. As a result of increasing subscription prices, the ad-supported tier drives interest as it gives consumers a chance to save money and providers another revenue stream. This has led to even larger subscription on-demand services, like Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime Video, attempting to retain customers and keep them engaged by launching ad-supported plans.One of the newest and fastest growing segments of the video streaming market in the U.S. is free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) featuring linear channels. Between April 2021 and November 2023, the share of weekly FAST viewers of total video users in the country more than doubled, demonstrating that services such as The Roku Channel, Samsung TV Plus, and Freevee, are unlikely to disappear anytime soon.
A new content strategy
Original programming has long been the main driver for consumers signing up for a video streaming service. Netflix in particular is known for its own productions, and so it is not surprising that the streaming giant dominated the ranking of the most popular original TV shows among video streaming services in 2023. “The Night Agent,” “Ginny & Georgia,” and “Virgin River,” to name just a few, were a hit with audiences, who invested several hours in watching them. However, amid the popularity of NBCUniversal’s TV show “Suits” in a second window on Netflix, several streaming companies shifted their focus away from originals towards third-party licensed content. While older movies and bingeable episodes of TV series are enjoyed by users of FAST services, acquired shows, such as “Bluey,” “NCIS,” and “The Big Bang Theory,” are popular on subscription services as well and were among the most watched series on on-demand platforms in the U.S. in 2023. Furthermore, streaming services are increasingly investing in bundling their services – even with competitors – and in live sports, as events such as the Super Bowl help online platforms to reduce churn.After a decade of a rising on-demand market, these new trends have undeniably changed the viewing experience. Consumers can now not only choose from several video streaming platforms, but also from a variety of monetization and content options.
