Top 10 Most Popular Streaming Services in the World
In the same way that video kills radio stars, the internet is killing TV stars right now. And one of the main reasons for this: Streaming. Many believe that in just a few years, online streams will completely replace traditional television. In the United States, the majority considered television "inappropriate". So, since streaming is clearly the future, it's no surprise that the streaming industry is now worth several billion dollars.
The following lists the 10 most popular subscription streaming services in the world right now by number of (paid) subscribers.
~ 167 million subscribers worldwide
~ 150 million subscribers worldwide
~ 140 million subscribers worldwide
~ 124 million subscribers worldwide
~ 62 million subscribers worldwide
~ 55 million subscribers worldwide
~ 54 million subscribers worldwide
~ 35 million subscribers worldwide
~ 31 million subscribers worldwide
~ 22 million subscribers worldwide
Top 10 most popular subscription streaming services in the world
1. Netflix
~ 167 million subscribers worldwide
Main streaming product: Movies & Series (both original and non-original)
Released year: 1997
Owned by: Netflix, Inc. Website
Netflix was originally founded in 1997 by American entrepreneurs Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph as a DVD rental store. In fact, it became the world's first online DVD rental store. But from 2007 onwards, Netflix started offering movies and series as a stream. Currently, with a total of about 159 million subscribers worldwide, the California-based company is the most popular subscription streaming service in the world. But Netflix is more than just a streaming service. It also owns its own studios and is producing many of its own films and series. 19 of the 20 most successful series of 2018 were Netflix original series.
2. Prime Video
~150 million subscribers worldwide
Main Streaming Product: Movies & Series (both original and non-original)
Released in: 2006
Owned by: Amazon, Inc. Website
Of course, Amazon is primarily known for being the largest online store in the world. But Amazon as a company is engaging in more affiliate businesses than it is today. Through Prime Video, the American company offers a streaming service exclusively to Prime members, a premium service for Amazon customers. Prime Video was originally started in 2006 as “Amazon Unbox” and was later renamed “Amazon Instant Video”. In 2011, it got its current name. Amazon Prime, and therefore Prime Video, currently has about 150 million subscribers worldwide. As of 2016, Amazon's streaming service also began offering original content produced in Amazon's own studios.
3. HBO
~140 million subscribers worldwide
Main Streaming Product: Movies & Series (all original)
Released in: 2010
Owned by: AT&T, Inc. Website
HBO (Home Box Office) is primarily an American cable television network. As viewership that began in the 21st Century moves increasingly towards the Internet, HBO cannot ignore this growth. Thus, HBO first started a streaming service called “HBO Broadband” in 2008 for HBO subscribers in the US state of Wisconsin. In 2010, HBO then rolled out HBO Go across the US. The rest of the world followed shortly after. In the US, HBO Go has been replaced by “HBO Max”. By any name, HBO currently has a total of 140 million subscribers globally and is therefore the third most popular subscription streaming service in the world.
As with all HBO content, any show, series or movie subscribers can watch on any HBO subscription they choose, is made available by HBO studios now owned by AT&T.
4. Spotify
~ 124 million subscribers worldwide
Main streaming product: Music
Released year: 2008
Owned by: Spotify Technology SA Website
Spotify is the world's most popular music subscription streaming service and the fourth most popular subscription streaming service overall. Spotify was started by Swedish entrepreneurs Daniel Ek and Martin Lorenzon. Streaming services have really changed the music industry. Just as Netflix moved its “movie” product from DVD to the internet, Spotify has actually moved its “music” product from CD to the internet. Spotify, now headquartered in Luxembourg, has 124 million subscribers worldwide. And that number is still growing every year.
5. Apple Music
~62 million subscribers worldwide
Main streaming product: Music
Released in: 2015
Owned by: Apple, Inc. Website
Apple Music completes the Top 5 of the most popular streaming services in the world. Apple Music was started in 2015 and represents the music streaming service of the American technology giant Apple. Former Apple CEO and legend Steve Jobs was always against the idea of a subscription music streaming service, despite the success of Spotify. But after his death in 2011, Apple's new leadership couldn't ignore the dramatic change music had made to the Internet. Interestingly, Apple has made this service available even to non-iOS and non-Mac users. Apple Music currently has 62 million subscribers worldwide. Hence, it is the second most popular music streaming service.
6. Amazon Music
~55 million subscribers worldwide
Main streaming product: Music
Released year: 2007
Owned by: Amazon, Inc. Website
7. Disney +
~54 million subscribers worldwide
Main streaming product: Movies & series (both original and non-original)
Released in: 2019
Owned by: The Walt Disney Company Website
8. Sirius XM
~35 million subscribers worldwide
Main Streaming Product: Radio Shows & Podcasts
Released year: 2008
Owned by: Sirius XM Holdings, Inc. Website
9. Hulu
~ 31 million subscribers worldwide
Main Streaming Product: Series (both original and non-original)
Released year: 2007
Owned by: The Walt Disney Company Website
10. YouTube Music
~22 million subscribers worldwide
Main streaming product: Music
Released year: 2015
Owned by: Alphabet, Inc. Website
Top 10 most popular subscription streaming services in the world
(as of March 2020)
1. NETFLIX
~ 167 million subscribers worldwide
2. PRIME VIDEO
~ 150 million subscribers worldwide
3. HBO
~ 140 million subscribers worldwide
4. SPOTIFY
~ 124 million subscribers worldwide
5. APPLE MUSIC
~ 62 million subscribers worldwide
6. AMAZON MUSIC
~ 55 million subscribers worldwide
7. DISNEY +
~ 54 million subscribers worldwide
8. SIRIUS XM
~ 35 million subscribers worldwide
9. HULU
~ 32 million subscribers worldwide
10. YOUTUBE MUSIC
~ 22 million subscribers worldwide
The 10 most popular streaming services in the world by number of worldwide subscribers. Only streaming services with a paid subscription are included in this ranking.