Streaming has quickly become the preferred way for people worldwide to access their favorite audio and video content. In this overview of the latest streaming services statistics, we’ll see how the video and music streaming markets are fairing in terms of finances and popularity. We’ll also examine the current trends in the video streaming industry. Finally, we’ll take a closer look at two of the world’s leading streamers in their respective fields — Netflix and Spotify.
Top 10 Streaming Services Statistics and Facts for 2023
The global video streaming industry’s value in 2022 is estimated at $80.83 billion.
The US video streaming market generated $34.1 billion in 2022.
In Q4 of 2022, Americans subscribed to 5.4 streaming services on average.
As of Q4 of 2022, Netflix had 230.75 million paid subscribers worldwide.
“Stranger Things” was the most-streamed program in the US in 2022.
Streaming services worldwide spent $26 billion on original content in 2022.
As of H1 of 2022, music streaming services had 616.2 million paying users
The global music streaming sector generated $13.66 billion in 2022.
As of H1 of 2022, Spotify held 30.1% of the global music streaming market.
Spotify finished the year 2022 with 205 million paid subscribers.
General Video Streaming Statistics
As of Q3 of 2022, 90.9% of people worldwide streamed video content.
The Philippines has the highest share of streaming service users — 97.9% of the country’s internet users aged 16–64 stream video content at least once a month. The global top five also includes Mexico (97.7%), Brazil (97.6%), India (97.5%), and South Africa (97.3%). Meanwhile, the US ranks 23rd with 93.5% of video streaming service users, and the UK is 26th with 92.7%.
(DataReportal)
The global video streaming revenue in 2022 is estimated at $80.83 billion.
This number marks a 10% increase from $73.43 billion in 2021 and continues the streaming industry’s multi-year growth. Over the next five years, analysts project the industry revenue will keep growing at a compound annual rate of 9.77%, eventually reaching $139.2 billion in 2027. Meanwhile, the average revenue per user (ARPU) — which many streamers use to measure their success as opposed to the total number of active users — in 2022 was valued at $69.96.
(Statista)
The US video streaming market generated $34.1 billion in 2022.
Accounting for 42.2% of the global total, streaming stats point to the United States as the world’s largest video streaming market. The revenue saw a 9.4% increase from $31.18 billion in 2021. Similar to the global market, video streaming in the US will keep growing over the next five years. At a compound annual growth rate of 8.63%, it should reach $54.66 billion by 2027.
(Statista)
At 78%, Netflix is the service with the highest penetration rate in the US.
In September 2022, Netflix topped the list of the most popular streaming services in the US, with 78% of households nationwide having an active subscription. Amazon’s Prime Video — part of the ecommerce giant’s Prime service, which also includes free same-day delivery — ranked second with 72% of subscribed households. The list also included Hulu (50%), Disney+ (47%), HBO Max (36%), Peacock (27%), Paramount+ (25%), Apple TV+ (19%), and Discovery+ (9%).
(Statista)
In Q4 of 2022, Americans subscribed to 5.4 streaming services on average.
According to streaming subscribers statistics, the average number of services was up from the 5.2 recorded in the previous quarter. With 115.6 million US households subscribing to at least one video streaming service, the household penetration rate of video streaming reached 89%. During 2022’s fourth quarter, 7% of US households tried a new streaming service. Of those who did so, 17% opted for Prime Video, 14% chose Peacock, and 10% subscribed to Paramount+.
(Kantar)
Amazon Prime Video was the most used streaming service in Q4 of 2022.
A report from JustWatch — a website that tracks content availability across all US streaming platforms — revealed that 2022’s final quarter saw Prime Video overtake the number 1 spot from Netflix for the first time. Namely, Prime Video held 21% of the market, while Netflix had a share of 20%. Other popular streamers included Disney+ (15%), HBO Max (14%), Hulu (11%), Apple TV+ (6%), and Paramount+ (6%). All other streamers accounted for the remaining 7%.
(Entrepreneur)
Netflix Statistics
As of Q4 of 2022, Netflix had 230.75 million paid subscribers worldwide.
Despite losing more than a million subscribers in 2022’s first half, Netflix managed to end the year on a positive note, adding a total of 8.91 million new subscribers (+4%) over 12 months. In Q4 of 2022 alone, the global streaming giant added 7.66 million subscribers — 910,000 in North America, 1.76 million in Latin America, 1.8 million in Asia-Pacific, and 3.2 million across Europe.
(Netflix, Variety)
Most Netflix subscribers in the United States are aged 18–44.
According to Netflix user statistics from a 2021 survey, 75% of American adults aged 18–34 and 72% of those in the 35–44 age bracket have an active Netflix subscription. At the same time, 56% of Americans aged 45–64 and just 44% of those aged 65 and over currently subscribe to this service. Interestingly, 44% of Americans aged 65+ say they’ve never subscribed to Netflix.
(Statista)
Netflix spent $16.84 billion on original content in 2022.
Although the number marks a 4.9% decrease from the $17.7 billion spent in 2021, it still firmly positions Netflix as the biggest spender among the world’s largest streaming services. Besides paying for original productions in 2022, Netflix spent another $21.83 billion on various content obligations, including licensing, acquisition, and costs related to multi-year production deals.
(Variety)
The first season of “Squid Game” is Netflix’s most-watched series ever.
With 1.65 billion hours watched within 28 days of release, Netflix viewership statistics reveal the first season of the South Korean dystopian drama is the service’s most popular original series. Other top performers include three 2022 releases — season four of “Stranger Things” (1.35 billion hours within the first 28 days), the first season of “Wednesday” (1.24 billion hours), and the limited true-crime drama series “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” (856.2 million hours).
(CNET)
More Video Streaming Industry Statistics
“Stranger Things” was the most-streamed program in the US in 2022.
Americans viewed 52 billion minutes of this popular Netflix show, putting it well ahead of “NCIS” (#2; 38.1 billion minutes), “Cocomelon” (#3; 37.8 billion minutes), and “Ozark” (#4; 31.3 billion minutes). Interestingly, 12 of the top 15 titles are currently streaming on Netflix. As the streaming home of the remaining three most-watched programs — “Encanto” (#5), “Bluey” (#8), and “The Simpsons” (#15) — the only other service to rank in the top 15 is Disney Plus, statistics show.
(Nielsen)
Streaming services worldwide spent $26 billion on original content in 2022.
After unprecedented year-over-year growth of 25% in 2022, analysts predict major streamers will keep increasing their content spend in 2023, albeit at a significantly lower rate of 8%. Netflix, which accounts for 25% of the global streaming content spend, will keep its budget at around $17 billion. Meanwhile, other big media companies’ significant operating losses ($10 billion in 2022) could drive the cost of content per customer to unsustainable levels for some of them.
(Broadband TV News, Financial Times)
Most big streaming platforms’ content output decreased in 2022.
According to streaming statistics, nine of the largest streamers in the US — Netflix, HBO Max, Hulu, Peacock, Paramount+, Apple TV+, Disney+, Discovery+, and Prime Video — collectively released 1,303 originals in 2022. The number marks an 8.4% decline from 1,422, which is how many originals these platforms released the year before. The only platforms that increased their output in 2022 are Netflix (+5.7%), Hulu (+36.9%), Disney+ (+31.9%), and Apple TV+ (+46.5%).
(Variety)
Music Streaming Statistics
39.1% of people worldwide use music streaming services each week.
At 50.3% each, Brazil and Indonesia have the highest music streaming penetration rate. Other countries with high shares of music streaming users include Mexico (49.5%), Norway (48.7%), and the Philippines (48.2%). While the US ranks 10th at 46.3%, major streaming markets like the United Kingdom (36.3%), China (36.3%), and France (34.4%) are below the global average.
(DataReportal)
As of H1 of 2022, music streaming services had 616.2 million paying users.
Music streaming stats point to a 17.6% increase over 2021’s first half, when there were 523.9 million global paying subscribers. While the addition of 92.3 million new subscribers surpassed the industry’s somewhat pessimistic projections, the number is considerably down from 109.5 million new subscribers the year before. China was the main growth driver, with the country’s Tencent Music Enterprises overtaking Amazon Music as the third-largest platform worldwide.
(Music Business Worldwide)
The global music streaming sector generated $13.66 billion in 2022.
A 5.6% increase from $12.94 billion in 2021, the number continued the uninterrupted multi-year growth of music streaming services worldwide. According to analysts, things will remain largely the same over the next five years. Namely, between 2023 and 2027, global music streaming will keep growing at a compound annual rate of 5.51%, eventually reaching $18.86 billion in value.
(Statista)
US music streamers collectively generated $5.46 billion in 2022.
The US music streaming market size increased by 9.1% from $4.99 billion in 2021, a much higher growth rate than the global industry. While the growth will continue over the next five years, its pace will be significantly slower. By 2027, the market volume is projected to reach $7.36 billion, for a compound annual growth rate of $5.09% between 2023 and 2027. The US will remain the world’s largest music streaming market, accounting for 39% of the global value.
(Statista)
Spotify led the list of the most popular music streaming apps in 2022.
A recent Data.ai global report reveals that Spotify was the most used music-related app in 2022 in terms of total usage time. Only four other streaming apps made the list — YouTube Music (#2), Amazon Music (#6), Deezer (#8), and Soundcloud (#9). The rest of the list, which excludes data from China, comprises the music players Samsung Music (#4), Mi Music (#5), and Lark Player (#7), the music discovery app Resso (#3), and the radio streaming app TuneIn (#10).
(DataReportal)
Spotify Statistics
As of H1 of 2022, Spotify held 30.1% of the global music streaming market.
With 187.8 million global subscribers at the end of 2022’s first half, Spotify was the world’s most popular music streaming service. None of the major competitors came even close to Spotify’s market share of 30.1% — Apple Music ranked second at 13.7%, China’s Tencent Music finished third at 13.4%, and Amazon Music was fourth at 13.3%. The list of the leading platforms also included YouTube Music (8.9%), NetEase (6.1%), Yandex Music (2.2%), and Deezer (1.5%).
(Music Business Worldwide)
Spotify finished the year 2022 with 205 million paid subscribers.
As the leader among the most popular music streaming services, Spotify increased its paid subscriber count by 14% year-over-year, surpassing its own projections by 3 million. At the same time, the number of total monthly active users — including those who use Spotify’s free, ad-supported tier — reached 489 million in Q4 of 2022, marking a 20% year-over-year increase.
(CNBC)
European users account for 39% of Spotify’s paid subscribers.
Spotify user statistics point to Europe as its largest market, with 39% of all paid subscribers in 2022’s fourth quarter living on the old continent. North America ranked second with a share of 28%, and Latin America placed third at 21%. As for the service’s monthly active users, Europe was in the lead at 30%, while North America and Latin America tied for second at 21% each.
(Spotify)
In Q4 of 2022, Spotify generated $3.4 billion in revenue.
Valued at €3.17 billion in the company’s internal documents, streaming service statistics show Spotify’s total revenue was up by 18% year-over-year. While the paid subscriber revenue saw an 18% increase over 2021’s final quarter, the ad revenue was up by 14%. But the company still isn’t profitable — in Q4 of 2022, Spotify’s operating losses totaled $240 million (€231 million).
(Spotify)
As of January 2023, 27.3% of Americans listened to podcasts on Spotify.
This makes Spotify one of the biggest streaming services for podcasts, second only to Apple Podcasts, which held an impressive 40.1% of the podcast app market. As for other preferred ways to listen to podcasts, 3.4% of Americans used web browsers, 2.4% opted for Google Podcasts, 1.7% chose iTunes, and 1.4% listened via embedded players on podcast websites.
(Buzzsprout)
Streaming Statistics: The Takeaway
The video and music streaming industries both continued their multi-year growth in 2022 — the former was up by 10% year-over-year, while the latter posted a 5.6% revenue increase. Experts don’t predict any major changes, as both are expected to grow further over the next five years.
But unlike music streaming, video streaming is approaching a crossroads of sorts. Namely, 2022 saw a decrease in the volume of original content video streaming services put out. And while they’ll continue investing in new content, many streamers have significant operating losses, which are bound to impact their bottom line and make them rethink their content strategies.
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