Every streaming service needs two main things to survive: videos to stream, and subscribers to watch them. If a service can't get any subscribers, it'll find itself leaving the market pretty soon. But just how many subscribers does each major streaming service have? Let's explore the subscriber counts for all major streaming services on the market.
How many subscribers does Netflix have?
As of Fall 2023, Netflix had nearly 247.2 million subscribers.
Netflix is one of the largest and most well-known streaming services on the market, and its subscriber numbers back that up.
Netflix launched its online DVD rental service in 2004. In 2007, the company launched its online video streaming service. From 2007 onward, Netflix experienced rapid growth, adding tens of millions of subscribers each year, especially after the company started to expand worldwide.
Netflix subscriber milestones
Netflix's biggest subscriber milestones include the following:
- 2009: Netflix surpasses 10 million subscribers
- 2011: Netflix surpasses 25 million subscribers
- 2013: Netflix surpasses 50 million subscribers
- 2015: Netflix surpasses 75 million subscribers
- 2017: Netflix surpasses 100 million subscribers
- 2018: Netflix surpasses 125 million subscribers
- 2019: Netflix surpasses 150 million subscribers
- 2020: Netflix surpasses 200 million subscribers
- 2022: Netflix surpasses 225 million subscribers
How many subscribers does Amazon Prime Video have?
As of 2023, Amazon Prime had an estimated 167 million US subscribers.
Amazon started its online video service in 2006 under the name "Amazon Unbox". The service was later renamed to "Amazon Instant Video on Demand" and then later, just "Prime Video".
From its inception, Prime Video was always included with an Amazon Prime subscription. This gives Amazon a bit of an edge on subscriber numbers (and some might say a misleading one), as its Prime Video subscriber counts were high upon inception.
Its subscriber growth numbers are also perhaps inflated and misleading, but it's also impossible to separate out those using Prime Video as a standalone service, and those using it as part of Amazon Prime, as some Prime users may have signed up to get Prime Video as well as discounted purchases and shipping through Amazon.
Unfortunately, Amazon does not publish its subscriber numbers. The best you'll find each year are either industry observer estimates or no data at all.
How many subscribers does Hulu (and Hulu + Live TV) have?
As of 2023, Hulu has over 48 million subscribers combined (with 4.5 million from Live TV)
Hulu is a rare case where an on-demand streaming operation and live TV streaming service operate in tandem. Originally launched in 2007 as an on-demand service, Hulu added an optional Live TV service in 2017.
Hulu is privately held and has been notoriously stingy on the details when it comes to its subscriber numbers. Over the years, it's doled out subscriber information in bits and pieces, and at times it has even delivered different numbers to different media outlets.
Hulu subscriber milestones
Based on available information, here are a few of Hulu's subscriber milestones:
- 2013: Hulu surpasses 5 million subscribers (Source: Engadget)
- 2015: Hulu surpasses 9 million subscribers (Source: TheVerge)
- 2016: Hulu surpasses 12 million subscribers (Source: TheVerge)
- 2018: Hulu surpasses 25 million subscribers (Source: Hulu)
- 2019: Hulu surpasses 28 million subscribers (Source: CNBC)
- 2020: Hulu surpasses 35 million subscribers
- 2021: Hulu surpasses 40 million subscribers
- 2022: Hulu surpasses 45 million subscribers
How many subscribers does Crunchyroll have?
As of 2022, Crunchyroll had almost 10 million paying subscribers, and 120 million registered users.
This anime streaming service began in 2006 and has slowly expanded its operations to serve both US and international anime fans. The company is now a subsidiary of Otter Media, which is itself owned by WarnerMedia.
Crunchyroll rarely publishes its subscriber numbers. In 2017, however, the service announced it had reached 1 million paid subscribers and 20 million registered users. Crunchyroll can be used for free with ads and a time delay on newly-released episodes, or with a paid monthly subscription that has no restrictions or ads.
How many subscribers does Max have?
As of August 2023, Max has just under 96 million or more subscribers.
Perhaps the most popular non-sports cable TV channel around, Max is HBO's standalone streaming service. The cable TV company launched the standalone service in 2015 and it has since undergone many makeovers. It gives users access HBO's full on-demand library stretching back throughout the decades and new original content specifically for the streamer.
How many subscribers does Paramount+ have?
As of early September 2023, Paramount+ has 63.4 million subscribers.
Paramount+ is the standalone streaming service offered by CBS. Launched in 2014, the service provides live TV streams for local CBS broadcast networks, as well as thousands of on-demand TV show episodes and movies owned by CBS.
The company made a rather ambitious goal to reach 16 million combined subscribers to Showtime and CBS All Access by 2022. After getting well ahead of schedule, it then raised the goal from 16 million to 25 million.
How many subscribers does Sling TV have?
As of 2023, Sling TV has over 2.12 million subscribers.
Sling TV was one of the first internet TV streaming services to hit the market back in 2015. The service quickly drew up 600,000 subscribers in its first year alone, which also makes it one of the fastest-growing internet TV services.
Massive competition on the market over the years significantly slowed down Sling TV's early growth. Nevertheless, the DISH Network-owned streaming service has maintained a steady number of subscribers.
How many subscribers does Philo have?
As of 2023, Philo had at least 50,000 subscribers.
One of the cheapest internet TV streaming services on the market, Philo comes in at a low cost of just $20 per month for over 70+ channels. Philo's unique service provides only entertainment TV channels, meaning no news or sports channels.
How many subscribers does Fubo have?
As of 2023, fubo had over 250,000 subscribers.
Much like Sling TV and PlayStation Vue, fubo came onto the market in 2015. The service focused purely on sports at the time, and mostly international soccer leagues like the Premier League and La Liga. Between 2015 and 2017, however, the service changed its format and pricing scheme to match consumer needs.
In 2017, fubo began to offer a more extensive package of channels beyond just sports. The service continued to add channels between 2017 and 2018. By the end of 2018, fubo carried over 100 channels with a heavy emphasis on sports.
How many subscribers does YouTube TV have?
As of early 2023, YouTube TV had over 1 million subscribers.
Not to be confused with regular YouTube, YouTube TV is a standalone internet TV streaming service that launched in early 2017. YouTube TV had a very slow rollout. It did not reach nationwide coverage until early 2019.
Even still, the service's sign-up numbers are impressive, which may be a testament to the effectiveness of hedging a well-known brand name for a new service, and the features YouTube TV brings to the table.
How many subscribers does DirecTV Stream have?
As of early 2019, DirecTV Stream had 1.5 million subscribers.
The DirecTV Stream launched in 2016 to much fanfare and has undergone a few different transformations. The service cost just $30 per month when it launched for a large bundle of channels and was part of the well-known DirecTV brand.
In its first two years, DirecTV Stream experienced dramatic growth. The service reached around 2 million subscribers in Q4 2018. However, several massive price hikes and a delayed effort in providing adequate features led to a mass exodus from the service.
How many subscribers does DAZN have?
As of 2022, DAZN had over 15 million subscribers.
Instead of offering specific channels, DAZN offers live streams of a few major combat sports leagues like Matchroom Boxing, Golden Boy Boxing, Bellator MMA, and the World Boxing Super Series, as well as a new MLB Whiparound show called "Change-Up." It's intended to be an alternative to Pay-Per-View for combat sports fans, and offers quite a bit of content at a much lower price than paying for a PPV event.
The company is privately held and has not released any subscriber information as of publication time.
Sam Cook • Author
Sam Cook is a full-time content strategist by day, a part-time freelance content writer since 2015. In another life, he was a high school English teacher for nearly a decade. Based in sunny New Orleans, he writes long-form educational content on technology, including Insurtech, Fintech, HRtech, and content streaming.
Desiree Wu • Editor
Desiree is a full-time Honours Business Administration student at Ivey Business School at Western University. She also served as an Editorial Intern at Flixed. Desiree is based in London, Ontario.
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