Global video streaming market is largely controlled by the usual suspects

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Weeks after Steven Spielberg took a swing at Netflix and Hulu, the Hollywood legend had a change of heart about the medium, appearing at Apple’s star-studded event to help the iPhone-maker launch a streaming service.

 

 

The embrace comes as people are increasingly cutting their cable connections and moving to streaming services for their entertainment needs. Just last week, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), a trade body that represents major Hollywood studios and Netflix, reported (PDF) that video streaming services now have more subscribers worldwide (613.3 million users) than those with a cable connection (some 556 million users).

 

Another disruption is nigh. Revenue generated by streaming services is set to surpass worldwide theatrical revenue this year, according to research firm Ampere Analysis. Media and technology companies are naturally fighting for a piece of that pie. The overcrowded video streaming market — valued at $22.6 billion last year and estimated to grow to $30.6 billion by 2022, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers — has more than 100 players competing for users’ attention.

 

Here’s a look at some of the biggest rivals, the markets they operate in, and how they are trying to win customers.

American giants eyeing the world

At the top of the list is Netflix, which began offering a streaming service in 2007, long before most companies even considered getting in the ring. This gave Netflix enough breathing room to bulk up its content catalog through licensing deals with cable networks and content studios. Twelve years later, Netflix has amassed 139 million subscribers in over 190 nations and territories.

 

Following in Netflix’s footsteps is Amazon, which has also made its Prime Video streaming service available in over 190 nations and territories. Amazon has never disclosed how many users subscribe to Prime Video, but last April the company said more than 100 million people use its umbrella subscription Prime, which bundles a range of services, including fast delivery of goods and Prime Video.

 

In the U.S., Netflix and Amazon also compete with Hulu, HBO, Starz, Showtime, CBS All Access, and Viacom’s Noggin — to name just a few. Hulu, which is only available in the U.S. and Japan, offers movies and shows, as well as access to some TV channels. The company said in January that it has reached 25 million subscribers. (Apple says it will make Apple TV+, the streaming service it announced this week, available in over 100 countries, though it didn’t offer content or pricing details.)

 

Cable giant HBO offers customers in the U.S. access to its original movies and shows such as Game of Thrones and Westworld through its HBO Now streaming service. HBO Now also includes content from sister companies Warner Bros. Pictures, 20th Century Fox, and Universal Pictures. As of early last year, the service had 5 million subscribers. Other players, such as CBS All Access, are relatively new in the market and have yet to gain significant traction.

 

Then there is YouTube, which people spend an awful lot of time watching. The Google-owned service is increasingly targeting on-demand video streaming users by adding movies to its catalog and slowly expanding the reach of YouTube Premium — a subscription service that gives users access to exclusive content and an ad-free experience — to more markets.

 

While YouTube is the most-consumed video streaming app in most markets, Netflix is leading in revenue worldwide. As of 2018, Netflix generated more revenue than any other video streaming service — and in some cases, more than any app in any category — in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, the U.K., the U.S., and Vietnam, among other markets, according to App Annie.

 

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