Top 25 Most Popular Streaming Services by Subscribers in the World

Most Popular Streaming Services World Wide by Subscribers

An Overview of the Streaming Services

• Three-quarters of all TV time is spent streaming.

• About 1.8 billion people have signed up for video streaming services.

• 26% of viewers say they watch a lot of shows at once at least once a week.

• Netflix has more than 250 million subscribers around the world.

• The most-streamed show was Ted Lasso (16.9 billion minutes).

Streaming services have experienced significant transformations in the past three years regarding pricing, content, and functionalities.

Streaming has surpassed both cable and broadcast, accounting for 36% of total television consumption.

The video streaming industry is currently valued at over $670 billion. It is anticipated to exceed $2.49 trillion by 2032, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.8%.

The count of distinct titles has exceeded 800,000 in the United States alone. The quantity of streaming platforms continues to increase.

The user base of video streaming services has expanded considerably in recent years.

In 2020, Forbes estimated that global subscriptions to online video streaming services reached 1.1 billion. As of 2023, that number is approximately 1.8 billion.

User penetration is approximately 17% in 2023. By 2027, the percentage is anticipated to attain 20.7%.

Indeed, 83% of households in the United States possess a subscription to at least one streaming service. This represents a substantial rise from the 52% recorded in 2015.

Americans, on average, allocate 13 hours and 11 minutes daily to digital media consumption.

Forbes reports that 3 hours and 6 minutes of that duration is allocated to video streaming. This is expected to escalate due to consumer demand.

A recent survey indicated that 72% of Americans are satisfied with their user experience regarding video streaming services. Ninety-three percent plan to either sustain or augment their streaming options.

Cost and user-friendliness are the paramount factors when evaluating new video streaming platforms.

Learn more: Top 30 Best Free Streaming Websites in the U.S 2024/2025 (Legally)

Top 25 Most Popular Streaming Services WorldWide Ranked by Subscribers

Here is an overview of the top 25 streaming platforms based on total subscribers:

1. Netflix: 277 million - USA

Netflix - The Most Popular Streaming Service WorldWide

World's largest streaming service is Netflix. The company had 269.6 million paid global memberships in June 2024. That number rose 3.6% from the previous quarter and 16% year-over-year.

Netflix's success secret? Grab one. No other service on this list has been available globally longer. (Not all services on this list are global.) U.S. and Canadian subscribers total 82.66 million. Africa, Middle East, and Europe have 91.73 million. Mexico and Latin America have 47.72 million, and Asia-Pacific has 47.5 million. The world is vast.

Netflix's massive content selection is another reason. Movies, shows. Foreign. Domestic. Netflix has capitalized on aggressive marketing, language-dubbing, and subtitles to blur country lines. The Squid Game phenomenon popularized a Korean-language series worldwide.

Netflix constantly adds new content, so there's always something new to watch.

Netflix will no longer report quarterly paid membership numbers or average revenue per membership because each membership has different revenue. That is, Netflix earns different amounts from the cheapest and highest tier advertising plans. Change begins in the first quarter of 2025.

2. Amazon Prime Video: 230 million - USA

Amazon Prime Video - The Most Popular Streaming Service in the World

Amazon Prime Video differs from the other streaming services. It is and is not. Since you can subscribe and watch anything, it's like the others. It's part of Amazon Prime's vast ecosystem. Amazon Prime costs a monthly or annual fee and gives you access to countless movies and shows.

Amazon Prime Video lets you rent or buy movies and shows. It's possible to use Amazon Prime Video without Prime. Amazon Prime Video Channels connect to other streaming services. You can subscribe to Paramount+ or Max on Amazon Prime Video. Prime Video also has NFL games like Thursday Night Football, which are exclusive to the U.S.

However, Amazon Prime Video is huge. Global, available in over 200 countries. In the Q3 2023 earnings call, Amazon CEO Andy Jassey said, “Prime Video continues to be an integral part of the prime value proposition, where it’s often one of the top two drivers of customers signing up for Prime.” Amazon doesn't release Prime or Prime Video numbers, but Jassey wrote in his 2021 shareholder letter, his first as CEO after Jeff Bezos, that Amazon had “over 200 million Prime customers.”

Private estimates rise from there. Still, 200 million is a rough estimate. Amazon will add ads to Prime Video in 2024 or charge $3 to remove them.

3. Disney+: 153 million - USA

In November 2019, Disney+ announced its global ambitions. It started big, with over 10 million subscribers on its first day.

Disney+ has been aggressive in bundling itself with Hulu and ESPN+, pricing the bundle so you'll buy all three. There will be overlap.

D, Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, and National Geographic are on Disney+ in the U.S. Hulu subscribers can now access Disney+ content.

Disney+ flavors vary by country. In India, Hotstar offers live sports and over 100,000 hours of shows and movies in nine languages. Though separate, Disney+ Hotstar is part of the global picture.

The breakdown: Disney+ had 54 million U.S. and Canadian subscribers on March 31, 2024. With 63.6 million international subscribers, the global total was 117.6 million. Disney+ Hotstar gains 36 million subscribers to 153.6 million.

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4. Tencent Video: 116 million - China

Tencent Video, whose Chinese name is 艾踯褆频 and pinyin is Téngxùn Shìpín, is a Chinese website that streams videos. It is also known as WeTV outside of China. The website has been around since April 2011 and is one of the biggest places to watch videos online in China.

Around 116 million people have paid to join Tencent Video as of March 2022. This makes it the fourth biggest streaming service in the world, following Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+.

Tencent Video also runs WeTV, an international version that came out in 2018.

5. iQIYI: 101 million - China

IQiyi

China's innovative online entertainment service iQIYI leads the market. Over 500 million monthly active users and nearly 6 billion hours spent on iQIYI make it one of the largest online video sites.

In December 2024, iQIYI had 101 million paid subscribers.

iQIYI's platform includes original content and a large library of professionally produced, user-generated, and user-generated content. Premium content is key to iQIYI's success. iQIYI must produce and license premium content to offer a unique and engaging entertainment experience. Dramas, variety shows, films, kids shows, documentaries, animations, sports shows, and other genres were available on iQIYI. This extensive content library has helped iQIYI attract users of all ages and backgrounds and boost engagement.

The company raised $2.25 billion in its US IPO on March 29, 2018.

As of December 31, 2020, there were 101.7 million subscribers and 100.7 million non-trial members.

On March 29, 2018, iQIYI's ADS began trading on Nasdaq Global Select Market as “IQ”. United States generally accepted accounting principles classify iQIYI as consolidated affiliated entity.

6. HBO Max: 90 million - USA

No service has changed more than Max. HBO Max replaced HBO Go and HBO Now. Then Warner Bros. merged with Discovery to form Warner Bros. Discovery. Max is the streaming service now.

In its first-quarter 2024 earnings report, Warner Bros. Discovery reported 99.6 million (90 million in June 2024). This number includes all WBD direct-to-consumer subscribers, but it's messy. Discovery+, HBO, HBO Max, and Max are still available.

While growing, Max continues to change. CNN Max and Bleacher Report sports add-ons with over 300 live events per year, including the NHL, NBA, and U.S. Soccer, have been added recently.

Max keeps growing. Latin America and Europe launch it in the first half of the year. The upcoming super sports streaming venture will include live sports from Disney (ESPN) and Fox, as well as Max's events.

In summer 2024, Max will be bundled with Disney+ and Hulu, another major industry change.

Top 30 Best & Popular Movies On HBO Max Of All Time Check out the top 30 best and most popular movies on HBo Max for you to binge watch in the weekend.

7. Paramount+: 71.2 million - USA

Best Movies on Paramount+ To Watch in 2022

Paramount+ is a global streaming service that is still very much a thing. It is backed by whole studios. (But experts think it will have to be eaten one day, probably by the next thing on our list.)

A lot of big brands are part of Paramount, which is why Paramount+ is for them. Think of CBS shows. And the premium Showtime network, which used to be a separate service but is now fully integrated with Paramount+. Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central, and BET are some more you can watch. Paramount+ has also been a place where you can stream soccer games from the Champions League and the NWSL. It's also the place to be if you like Star Trek.

And Paramount said in its earnings report for the first quarter of 2024 that Paramount+ had 71.2 million subscribers, which was about 18% more than the previous year.

Some people think that Paramount could be in the middle of an acquisition or merger. But as of now, no one is interested.

Top 40 Best Movies on Paramount+ That You Must To Watch

8. Hulu: 51.1 million - USA

Over the years, Hulu has changed its content and owners. Disney, which acquired 21st Century Fox, now owns and controls the entire company as of the first quarter of 2024.

On-demand content, especially Fox content, is abundant on Hulu, which is known for The Handmaid's Tale and Only Murders in the Building. Hulu has 51.1 million paid on-demand subscribers. Hulu is now available in Disney+ for dual subscribers, complicating things. Disney+ doesn't have everything on Hulu.

Disney's first-quarter 2024 earnings show that Hulu has 4.5 million subscribers, making it the second-largest U.S. live TV streaming service. (Down 100,000 subscribers from the previous quarter.) They are also Disney+ and ESPN+ subscribers and automatically enrolled in the Disney bundle.

9. Eros Now: 39.9 - India

Since 2012, Eros Now has been an over-the-top (OTT) entertainment and media service in India that lets users watch videos whenever they want. It is owned and run by Eros Digital, which is the Indian division of the Indian-American media company Eros Media World that manages digital media. The network lets you stream media and watch videos whenever you want.

There are 128 million registered users of Eros Now and 39.9 million paying subscribers around the world. (The number of paid subscribers can include people on a paid trial, a free trial, or a minimum guarantee, as long as a payment method is given.)

Eros Now is one of the Top 100 most subscribed YouTube channels in India, with 18 million subscribers.

10. ALTBalaji: 35 million - India

ALTBalaji

ALTT is an Indian video-on-demand service that you can subscribe to. It is a fully owned subsidiary of Balaji Telefilms Ltd. ALTBalaji, which came out on April 16, 2017, is the group's first foray into digital entertainment to make their own original OTT content.

ALTBalaji is a video-on-demand app that you can subscribe to. It has original shows in many types of genres, including thrillers, mysteries, crime, dramas, comedies, and romances. There are also a number of shows for kids, both animated and live-action. The content can be read in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Arabic, Bahasa Indonesia, and Malaysian, among other languages. The app works on the web, as well as on Android and iOS devices.

11. SonyLiv: 33.3 million - India

Culver Max Entertainment owns SonyLIV, an Indian over-the-top video-on-demand service that you can subscribe to. SonyLIV was India's first over-the-top (OTT) service when it launched in 2013[2].[3] Like any other streaming service, it offers live sports, original shows, shows from its own networks, and shows licensed in India from companies like Lionsgate, ITV, and others. There are movies, TV shows and series, and sports in the Sony Liv content library.

In August 2015, about 25 million people watched SonyLIV every month. As of December 2023, that number has grown to 33.3 million.

12. Peacock: 33 million - USA

How to Remove Ads on Peacock: Easy Step-to-Step

NBC's streaming service is called Peacock. Even though it's had some rough spots—many of its first exclusive shows were canceled because not enough people watched—its corporate bosses have stuck with it. Peacock had a healthy 33 million paid subscribers by the first quarter of 2024. The parent company, Comast, says that's more than three times the nine million subscribers it had at the end of 2021. That's up from 31 million at the end of 2023.

Not bad for a streaming service that no one wanted, right? It's probably popular in part because it's cheap and because it's where you can stream the English Premier League in the U.S. You can still watch a lot of other things on Peacock.

13. Canal Plus: 26.4 million - France

The French premium TV channel Canal+, whose name means "Channel Plus" and is sometimes written as C+ or Canal, is owned by the Groupe Canal+. It has been on since November 1984 and sends signals to Metropolitan France. It shows different kinds of shows, most of which are encrypted, but you can watch some unencrypted content for free.

André Rousselet and Pierre Lescure helped to start Canal+. Alain de Greef, who joined in 1986, was one of the first people to do this.

CANAL+ Group expands its pay TV business around the world through its subsidiary CANAL+ International. As of the end of 2023, 26.4 million subscribers had signed up for CANAL+ International in more than 50 countries in Africa, Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Caribbean, and the Indian Ocean. In addition, it makes more than 100 channels just for the international market.

14. Apple TV+: 25 million - USA

The number of Apple TV+ subscribers is unknown. Like most Apple products, the company doesn't provide numbers anecdotally or in earnings releases. So be skeptical.

For Apple TV+, which is available on all modern streaming platforms, 25 million paid subscribers are estimated. Apple hardware purchases trigger more trial periods. Apple doesn't release official numbers. So we don't know.

Due to MLS Season Pass being exclusive to Apple TV+ and Lionel Messi being exclusive to Inter Miami, we expect that number to rise. Only the final months of 2023 were covered.

Apple TV+ isn't going anywhere with great shows like Ted Lasso, The Morning Show, Lessons in Chemistry, For All Mankind, and Monarch: Legacy of Monsters and exclusive movies.

Apple TV Plus Guide: Cost, Sign up, What to Stream, Devices, Q&A

15. Globoplay: 25 million - Brazil

Grupo Globo owns Globoplay, a Brazilian over-the-top video on-demand service that you can subscribe to. The service mostly sends out movies and TV shows made by Estúdios Globo. It also hosts content from other providers, content add-ons, live sporting events, and services for renting and buying movies. It was made on October 26, 2015, and it came out in Brazil on November 3, 2015. For the first time, 20 million people signed up for it, making it the most popular streaming service in Brazil.

Globoplay was set to come out on October 14, 2021, in Canada and more than 20 European countries, including Italy, France, Switzerland, Germany, Spain, Portugal, and the UK. The news came out in September 2021.

16. iFlix: 25 million - Malaysia

Malaysia's iFlix is a free and paid video on demand (VOD) service that focuses on emerging markets. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, is where its main office is located. Through partnerships with more than 150 studios and content distributors around the world, the site hosts and distributes Western, Asian, and local TV shows and movies digitally.

Iflix is currently available in Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam, which are all in Asia.Since April 2020, more than 25 million people have used Iflix, and each month they watch more than 2.5 billion minutes.

17. CuriosityStream: 25 million - SVOD

Curiosity Stream Inc., which used to be called CuriosityStream, is an American media company and subscription video streaming service that offers documentaries in the form of movies, TV shows, and series. A video-on-demand service called "Curiosity Stream" and a linear TV channel called "Curiosity Channel" are both available through the company's services, such as FuboTV and The Roku Channel.

John S. Hendricks, who started the Discovery Channel, launched the service in 2015.It was said to have about 20 million subscribers (now 25 million) around the world across its direct and bundled platforms in 2021.

18. ESPN+: 24.9 million - USA

The ESPN+ subscription streaming service is intriguing. Disney-owned, it features live sports (professional and collegiate) and on-demand originals. It also streams for ESPN+ subscribers with a linear subscription. Cable, satellite, and YouTube TV are examples.

ESPN+ offers a world of live sports, but it doesn't yet give you standalone access to ESPN. All college sports, MMA and UFC live streams, the German Bundesliga, the Association of Pickleball Players, and the Belgian Pro League are available on ESPN+. Just scratching the surface.

ESPN+ launched in spring 2018 and reached 1 million subscribers in five months. After that, it steadily rose to 24.8 million paid subscribers, according to Disney's fiscal Q2 2024 earnings report. Much of that is through standalone subscriptions, but ESPN+ also benefits from the Disney Bundle, which bundles Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ for a nearly unbeatable price.

ESPN and ESPN+ will change in the coming years. ESPN's standalone subscription service was announced for fall 2025. By 2024, Disney+ will include ESPN+ as a tile. ESPN joins Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discover's live sports rights triad. In fall 2024, that combined streaming service will launch.

19. StarTimes: 20 million - China

Founded in 1988, StarTimes Group is a Chinese multinational media company headquartered in Beijing. After many years in development, StarTimes has become a major System Integrator, Technology Provider, Network Operator, and Content Provider in African television broadcasting industry.

Since 2008 when StarTimes started operation in African market, the company has been sparing no effort to realize its ambitious mission: "To ensure that every African family can access, afford, watch and share the beauty of digital TV".

Today, as the leading digital-TV operator in Africa, StarTimes is 13 million DVB subscribers and 27 million OTT users, and covering whole of the continent's population with a massive distribution network. It has established subsidiaries in 30+ African countries.

StarTimes now is the only brand who is simultaneously running DTT, DTH and OTT businesses in African market, and the only company who is engaged in B2B and B2C business at the same time. StarTimes aims to become a media group with international influence.

StarTimes is assisting to ensure that the African continent and media development progresses to the next level in digital television broadcasting. StarTimes is the key partner to Africa in her effort to migrate from analogue to digital.

20. DAZN: 20 million - UK

British over-the-top sports and entertainment streaming platform DAZN. Access Industries owns Perform Group, which was formed in 2007 by merging Premium TV Limited and Inform Group.

Since 2015, DAZN has broadcast live and on-demand sports in over 200 countries, including Italy, Spain, Germany, Japan, France, Portugal, Belgium, Taiwan, the US, and Canada, where it has key domestic broadcast rights. It holds over 75 programming rights as Europe's largest digital sports broadcaster. The service has 20 million paid subscribers worldwide in 2023.

After TPG's Integrated Media Company (IMC) acquired a majority stake in Goal in 2020, DAZN has expanded into in-play betting, gaming, e-commerce, merchandise, and ticketing. It was originally involved in content distribution, subscription, advertising and sponsorship, and technology and production.

21. Starz: 15.9 million - USA

It seems like Starz has been around forever, even if you haven't used it outside of a trial period. It's one of those movie-focused streaming services. Though it might not be as surprising when you know that it's basically the official streaming service of the Lionsgate studio.

Lionsgate's earnings report for the quarter shows that Starz had 15.9 million subscribers around the world as of June 2024. It adds 8.85 million more linear subscribers, which are people who get their TV from cable, satellite, and other providers.

22. Discovery Plus: 15 million - USA

Warner Bros. Discovery owns Discovery+, an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service features factual programming from Discovery's main channel brands, original series (including spin-offs of Discovery's television networks), and acquired content.

It debuted in India on March 23, 2020. It launched in the US on January 4, 2021, and replaced Discovery's Dplay and Eurosport Player in Europe the following day. As of April 1, 2022, Discovery+ has 24 million subscribers.

After their April 2022 merger, Discovery+ became HBO Max's sister service. Next year, HBO Max became Max with Discovery content. Because Discovery+ was profitable, WBD kept it after originally planning to drop it for Max.

23. Crunchyroll: 15 million - USA

Sony Group Corporation owns Crunchyroll, an American over-the-top video on-demand service that people can subscribe to. The company's main office is in San Francisco, California, and its Japanese branch is in Shibuya, Tokyo. The service mostly distributes movies and TV shows made in East Asia, such as Japanese anime.

There are licensing restrictions that mean the number of anime shows available in each country. However, Crunchyroll does offer over 1,000 anime shows and more than 200 East Asian dramas in over 18 languages. It used to offer around 80 manga titles as Crunchyroll Manga. It got over a million paid subscribers in February 2017, and by 2024, it will have more than fifteen million. Crunchyroll also puts out titles on home video, either by itself [12] or by having certain anime titles put out by its distribution partners, such as Sentai Filmworks, Viz Media, Discotek Media, and Aniplex of America (in North America) and Anime Limited (in the UK).

24. Viu: 13.4 - Hong Kong

Viu, whose name is pronounced "view," is an over-the-top (OTT) video streaming service based in Hong Kong and owned by PCCW Media Group.

In the Asia-Pacific region, Viu is a legal digital platform that offers online video content. Viu has premium content from China, Hong Kong, Korea, and Japan, and some titles have subtitles in both English and Chinese. Viu Premium members can watch dramas and variety shows up to 8 hours after they were first shown on TV.

Viu users won't have to surf the web from sketchy places or worry about copyright issues. Instead, they will be able to watch TV+ on several devices at the same time, including tablets, cell phones, and TV+. Each region may also have different content.

25. MUBI: 12 million - UK

Mubi, which used to be called Auteurs before 2010, is a global platform for streaming, production, and film distribution. MUBI produces and releases in theaters movies by new and established directors that can only be seen on its platform. The catalog has movies from around the world, like independent, arthouse, and documentary films.[2] It also puts out Notebook, a film criticism and news magazine, and through MUBI GO, it offers weekly movie tickets to certain new releases.

The MUBI streaming platform can be used on the web, Android TV, Chromecast, Roku devices, Apple Vision Pro, PlayStation, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, LG and Samsung Smart TVs, and mobile phones like the iPhone, iPad, and Android. It is also available in over 190 countries.

FAQs

What is streaming video?

Users can watch digital video content like movies and TV shows on their computers, phones, tablets, and other devices without having to download it. This is called streaming video. The video is sent over the internet in small chunks, and as it arrives, it is played back. This lets users watch the video in real time.

One of the best things about streaming video is that you can watch it on any device, at any time, and from anywhere. You can also pause and play the video back or forward. Streaming video is also often less expensive than renting or buying a DVD, and you don't need physical media like tapes or discs.

What devices can I use to stream videos?

In the past few years, streaming videos online has become more popular, and for good reason. It's not only easy, but it also saves money and doesn't require much technical know-how. But if you want to start streaming, you may be curious about "What devices can I use to stream videos?"

Using your computer or laptop is a good place to begin. A good internet connection is all you'll need because most computers already have webcams and microphones built in. If you want a better streaming experience, you might want to buy a webcam and microphone that are just for streaming.

Are there any free streaming video services available?

Video streaming is good for businesses.Are you a content creator looking for a free streaming service to stream videos? You're in luck if so! As more people use digital media, more and more free streaming video services are now open for producers to use. From YouTube to Vimeo, these are some of the best free video streaming sites for creators.

Which streaming service is the most cost effective?

In the end, you can pick any streaming service you like based on cost, content, and what people in your family watch. To save money, choose platforms that are either free or that give you the most for $10 or less. You can always sign up for more than one service and cancel one when you find no more content to read.

What about live TV streaming and niche services?

This list only has the most popular on-demand streaming services. Live TV streaming services for people who don't want to pay for cable, like Sling TV and YouTube TV, aren't included. Neither are free streaming services like Tubi or Crackle, nor are niche services like Crunchyroll or PBS Kids, nor are regional sports networks. You can look at our other lists of the best streaming services for anime, kids, and other things.

In Conclusion

The majority of the aforementioned online platforms necessitate registration and payment. Nonetheless, certain online platforms offer free services or perpetual discounts to entice customers.

The streaming services are proliferating rapidly amid intense competition, ensuring that the rankings of online platforms in the Top 25 will undoubtedly fluctuate continuously. Netflix maintains its supremacy in global online services; however, numerous online platforms from China and India are rapidly encroaching.

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