The video and music streaming industry is booming right now and it’s here to stay. Just how well is it doing though? This list of the top streaming services statistics will help you understand more about the industry.
The ways we watch shows and movies — and how we listen to music — have changed dramatically over the last decade. Gone are the days of visiting your local video rental store or waiting a whole week to catch the next episode of your favorite show. On-demand subscription services have taken hold, so let’s look at the top streaming services statistics for 2022.
Streaming services come in all shapes and sizes, with some providing only on-demand content and others adding live TV and local channels. Then there’s the music streaming scene, with both free and paid options letting you listen to your favorite songs on pretty much any device.
In this article, we’ll go over different streaming statistics and facts to show how the online streaming world has reshaped the video and music industry.
The most used streaming platform in 2022 is Netflix, which has more than 220 million subscribers across the globe.
Although we may only think of the top streaming services, such as Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video and Hulu, there are actually more than 200 streaming services available around the world.
Yes, Netflix is the number one streaming service in the world, with more than 220 million subscribers.
Video and music streaming is a global industry that just keeps growing. If you’re wondering how much it has grown and which services are the most popular, among other interesting facts, these streaming statistics will cover everything from video streaming market to music streaming statistics — though we won’t dive into the live streaming industry.
Global and U.S. video streaming is continuing to grow, especially after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. See the video streaming statistics below for data on how the market is evolving.
The global video streaming industry was valued at a whopping $50.11 billion in 2020 and rose to $60.1 billion by 2021. The market is expected to grow annually by 21% between 2021 and 2028, giving it an estimated total value of $330 billion by 2030.1, 32
Value of Video Streaming Industry, in Billions
Streaming increased by 21% over Q3 2020. Looking at individual regions, Africa had the greatest surge in streaming activity, increasing 273%. Oceania had the second highest increase at 80%. North America’s streaming market has steadily increased by 2% over the past few years. Netflix saw a huge spike in subscriptions in Q1 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions.2, 9
During lockdown in March 2020, the U.S. streaming audience watched a massive 160 billion minutes of content — the equivalent of 304,414 years of straight watching. If you were to put that in historical context, it was when humans evolved.
Still, that number was surpassed in the last week of December 2021, with the U.S. audience streaming a total of 183 billion minutes, or 348,173 years straight — an extra 44 thousand years.
Every week in February 2021, Americans streamed 143.2 billion minutes of video content. That increased to 169.4 billion in February 2022, showing that this figure is likely to continue increasing. Overall, Americans streamed almost 15 million years’ worth of video content in 2021.8, 10
In 2021, it was reported that 67% of U.S. households had a paid TV subscription, proving that while cord-cutting is popular, it has not completely taken over the industry. That said, with many streaming services offering live TV packages, that figure could change.4
Percentage of U.S. Household With Subscriptions
Around 85% of U.S. households now have at least one subscription to a video streaming service, such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video or HBO Max. U.S. users have an average of four streaming service subscriptions, according to the Deloitte Digital Media Trends Study. Another study found that 7% of Americans have six or more streaming subscriptions.3, 4, 10
A full 15% of people said they spend $50 or more on video streaming subscriptions per month, but the majority of people spend between $20 and $29.99. Those aged 35 to 49 spend the most on streaming subscriptions, with 24% paying for more than five.
A whopping 93% of Americans said they plan on increasing their streaming options or at least making a change to their existing streaming plan.10
From a 2021 survey of people aged 18 and over, 35% said the top feature that made them want to watch subscription video on demand (SVOD) was having access to the shows they want. Coming in at a close second, 34% said it was being able to binge-watch content.9
Most Attractive Features of Video Streaming Service
While cord-cutters initially turned to streaming services to circumvent package deals, many consumers now want some sort of streaming service bundle. In one survey, 46% of people said the streaming service choice was becoming overwhelming and 64% said they would prefer a bundle that allowed them to choose which streaming services they wanted.10
Though there can be many reasons for subscription cancellations, 49% of people said the most likely reason would be a price increase, and 31% said it would be specific content being removed.
However, a portion of subscribers plan to cancel after watching a specific show. For instance, Apple TV+ had success with Ted Lasso in the last two quarters of 2021, but 19% of users planned to cancel their subscription in Q1 2022 after they finished watching it.
It’s a similar story with Dune on HBO Max in Q4 2021 — 7% of new subscribers planned to cancel after they’d watched the sci-fi blockbuster.3, 4
Top Reasons to Cancel Video Streaming Subscriptions
In late 2021, more than 81% of U.S. households had at least one TV-connected device, an increase from 72% in 2019.
In Q3 2021, 73% of global viewing time was on big screen TVs. That includes streaming directly on a smart TV, or using streaming devices or game consoles connected to a TV. Asia was the only region where big screen TVs didn’t dominate, with desktops winning the majority at 49%.2, 10
FAST — short for “free, ad-supported streaming TV” — has seen a large increase in subscribers. The percentage of American households using FAST services more than doubled from 8% in 2020 to 18% in 2021. These services include Pluto TV, Tubi, Peacock, The Roku Channel and more.3
Percentage of U.S. Households with FAST Services
Ad-supported streaming subscription tiers are usually offered as a cheaper — or free — way to stream. In the U.S., 55% of people use an ad-supported video streaming service.
Consumers have mixed feelings on the subject, with 28% saying they want an ad-free streaming experience and 16% claiming they would leave if advertisements were added to the service. On the other hand, 53% of U.S. consumers said they would be happy to watch commercials between shows if the cost of streaming services was lowered.4, 19
Although video streaming platforms used to provide only on-demand content, many now provide live TV and cable channels too. This type of service is growing in popularity, with 12.5% of households now using a streaming service with live TV. YouTube TV has the highest percentage of household subscriptions, having grown by 160% since 2020.10
Most users enjoy discounts and freebies, and the streaming world is no exception. As many as 46% of people said they would consider signing up for a new service if the price was low enough, and 28% said they would be tempted if it offered a free trial or discounted price.
In terms of content offered, 33% said they would sign up if the service had content they want that’s not available elsewhere, and 24% said they would if it had previously released content that they can’t find anywhere else. Plus, 32% would subscribe for new original shows or movies produced by the streaming service.4
Top Reasons to Subscribe to a New Streaming Service
A 2021 survey found that 15% of young people ages 18 to 29 said they used a free trial to sample the service before committing to a paid subscription, which was almost double the rate found in older age brackets.
However, 8% of the same age group said they used free trials to binge-watch a single series or a movie. Still, around half of each age group surveyed said they had not used a free trial. Only two out of five people who use a free trial end up paying for a subscription once it ends.9
A recent survey found that 72% of Americans say they love their streaming service user experience. Close to 80% of Netflix subscribers said they were satisfied with the service.9, 10
American Satisfaction of Streaming Service
Below are streaming statistics focused on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney Plus, Hulu and HBO Max.
Netflix had 222 million subscribers by the end of 2021, an increase of 18 million over the year. However, that was significantly less than the previous year, with Netflix recording an increase of 37 million paid subscriptions in 2020.
Netflix believes the annual growth rate slowed due to production delays caused by COVID-19. Still, its total streaming revenue was more than $7 billion at the end of 2021, giving it a 16% revenue increase year by year.
Netflix is available in more than 190 countries. The number of subscribers in each region varies widely due to infrastructure and population numbers as a whole. As of Q1 2022, Netflix had 74.58 million subscribers in the U.S. and Canada, followed closely by Europe, the Middle East and Africa with 73.73 million.
The Latin America and Asia-Pacific regions had roughly the same number of subscribers collectively, with 39.61 and 33.72 million, respectively.5, 6, 16
As of May 2021, Netflix U.S. had more than 3,700 movies and 3,500 TV series seasons in its library. Netflix spent $12.5 billion on content in 2020, which rose to $17.4 billion in 2021.
Figures taken in December 2021 show that almost half (44%) of the U.S. Netflix library consists of Netflix originals. Other countries followed close on its heels, with Australia at 42%, Canada at 40% and the U.K. at 38%.9, 18
Netflix has aired many successful shows and movies, which have garnered high viewing numbers in a short space of time. Some are viral hits from the get-go, with Squid Game generating 1.65 billion viewing hours in its first four weeks and Tiger King being viewed in more than 60 million households in the first four weeks.
La Casa de Papel (Money Heist) accumulated more than 6 billion viewing hours over the lifetime of the show. Other popular shows include The Witcher and You, which both amassed more than 400 million viewing hours. 5, 20
Amazon Prime had more than 200 million Prime members in 2020, and the number is still rising. Content-wise, Amazon has thousands of titles in its library, and many of those titles are Prime originals.
Two of their most successful shows are Reacher and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Reacher racked up more than 1.5 billion viewing minutes (25 million hours) within the first week and the season four premiere of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel achieved 499 million viewing minutes (more than 8 million hours) in the same amount of time.7, 22
Disney Plus added another 11.8 million new subscribers by the end 2021, giving it a massive total of 129.8 million global subscribers in 2021. That includes the 45.9 million subscribers of India’s Disney+ Hotstar service.
Disney+ now has more than 500 movies and 15,000 episodes in its library. There are also 80 Disney Plus originals available.15, 23
As reported in 2022, Hulu has more than 45 million paid subscribers in the U.S. Its content library contains more than 70,000 movies and TV episodes. Subscribers with the live TV package can enjoy more than 80 live channels.21
At the end of 2021, HBO and HBO Max had a combined subscriber count of 73.8 million around the globe. HBO Max has more than 13,000 hours of entertainment, including TV shows, movies and Max originals.24, 25
The average budget for creating a streaming TV series in the U.S. has increased by 16.5% each year, reaching $59.6 million in 2020, but the average doesn’t tell the whole story.
Disney’s budgets for Wandavision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier were much bigger than the mean, with each episode having a budget of $25 million. Disney’s total estimated content spend for 2021 was a little over $30 billion. That’s almost two times Netflix’s $17 billion budget for 2021.9, 17
Music streaming services, such as Spotify, Amazon Music Unlimited and Apple Music are increasingly popular. As the streaming statistics show below, the industry is constantly growing, but let’s see what other interesting statistics and facts we can unveil.
The value of the worldwide music streaming market was $29.45 billion in 2021 and $34.53 billion in 2022. It’s expected to increase by 14.7% between 2022 and 2030, reaching a total of $103.07 billion by 2030. The U.S. music streaming market alone was valued at $9.2 billion and is expected to increase by 13.3% for the same period.11
Worldwide Music Streaming Market, in Billions
A report conducted in 2019 showed that music streaming revenue, including both ad-supported services and premium paid services, made up about 80% of the revenue of the total music industry.4
According to a 2021 report, 60% of people in the U.S. subscribe to at least one paid music streaming service, with the average number of subscriptions per person being two.
Younger people are more likely to use a subscription audio streaming service, with around 60% of those ages 16 to 34 saying they use such a service. The figure decreases among older age groups.4, 28
A 2021 survey revealed the top reason users paid for a music streaming service was to stop advertisements interrupting the music stream. Other top reasons: listening to what they want when they want it, having access to millions of songs and having access to their own playlists.28
Just like with video streaming, there are various reasons why someone might cancel. A study showed that 37% of users would cancel a paid music service if the price increased and 29% would cancel if certain content was removed.4
Top Reasons to Cancel Music Streaming Subscriptions
In 2021, 62% of U.S. consumers used an advertising-supported music streaming service, such as YouTube, ad-supported Spotify and TikTok.
In 2020, the ad-supported music streaming market saw 18% growth with $1.2 billion of revenue. The following year saw an even bigger hike, with ad-supported music streaming revenue growing by 47% to $1.8 billion.4, 13
It has been reported that around half of young adults between the ages of 18 and 29 stream music every day. The year 2019 was a milestone for the music streaming industry, with on-demand music streams in the U.S. passing the one trillion mark. The end total for the entire year was a whopping 1.15 trillion.4, 12
The COVID-19 pandemic increased audio streaming use, with on-demand audio streaming increasing 17% in the U.S. by the end of 2020.29
Some 80% of users listen to paid audio streaming services via mobile devices. Smart TVs and smart speakers, such as Amazon Alexa and Google Home, are used by 41% of paid music streamers. In-car entertainment accounts for only 24% of users.
Computers still make up a good portion of usage at 39%, and with many popular music streaming services now available on browsers, this figure could increase. Using a music streaming service through a web browser takes away the need for a dedicated app.10, 11
Spotify’s 2021 global financial results revealed an 18% year-by-year increase of monthly active users, totaling 406 million users by the end of 2021. For the same period, its premium subscriptions grew by 16%, totaling 180 million.
Spotify currently has a total of 422 million users, with 183 million of those being paid subscribers, making it the top podcast and music streaming service right now.14, 31
In late 2021, Lyor Cohen, YouTube’s global head of music, announced that the YouTube has surpassed a milestone with more than 50 million subscribers. However, that’s a combined total of both YouTube Music and YouTube Premium subscribers, including trailers.30
The online streaming world for both video and music content is growing fast. Not only are more and more people turning to such services for the pure ease of streaming what they want when they want, but we’re also seeing a spike in new streaming services.
On top of that, the type of content on offer has changed over time, with instant access to video-on-demand, live TV and music streams. While such services offer the freedom to watch or listen to content at your own pace and from anywhere you want, many consumers struggle with too many service choices.
Do you have a subscription to video content online? How many streaming music services do you subscribe to? What’s your favorite streaming platform and why? How do you choose between exclusive content? Let us know in the comment section and, as always, thanks for reading our article on audio and video streaming stats.
This is a great article. Very insightful. Thanks for the post.
Why Apple TV+ and Apple music is missing?
Because it’s trash
I am currently researching streaming services due to budget constraints. I am retired and would like to tailor my needs to channels I am interested in. Cable TV no longer attracts me. They are very expensive and they don’t have the channels I am interested in keeping.
Streaming will give me the required channels I am interested in.
I’m constantly searching for bundles. I’m a Prime Member and loved being able to click and pay AmzVideo. I bought my first HD, new TV with 4K etc. and it’s fine. I must have missed some fine print (I didn’t) stating that being that it’s a “Google” TV, I must now pay through Google for all charges. WTF? The TV is a Sony and combined, I’m forced to watch Google content, and it’s not always free. I refuse to pay for streaming. The “Free w/adds” is horrible, 10 min of movie then 1-6 adverts. Another 10-12 min. of movie,1-6 adverts, same sponsors. I have yet to watch an entire movie since Google commandeered my streaming apps. Amazon Prime and Hulu are decent enough…but my Starz and Showtime accounts have disappeared. As if recently, Hulu no longer provides those 2 Apps in their Bundles. I spend enough money at Amazon and at Google. I’m not paying for crappy movies, nor $20+ for a new release. I regret making this TV purchase. The Samsung 720 32″ became too small. So, in my ideal streaming world, Amazon Video + Hulu including Starz and Showtime cost $15+$6 covering my needs. I purchased 5 Seasons of Animal Kingdom and had purchased 1st &2nd Seasons of Handmaids Tale, which is now Free. I’m sticking with Amazon Prime & Hulu. To hell with paid Movies and or 25 Adverts per hour. I resent Googles appropriation of my shows which had been free, no ads, w/a paid subscription. Conclusion: I’m going to start reading again.
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35 Streaming Services Statistics You Need to Know in 2022 – Cloudwards
