Key Points
- Netflix surpassed Amazon’s Prime Video to become the top premium streaming app by subscriber count in 2025, according to Parks Associates.
- Disney Plus and Hulu traded places, with Hulu taking the lead, owed largely to deeper distribution in pay TV packages.
- Apple TV Plus, YouTube Premium and ESPN Plus also made the list.
Netflix has retaken the lead as the most-used streaming app in American homes, according to Parks Associates’ annual “Streaming Video Tracker” report released this week.
The streamer leapfrogged Amazon’s Prime Video to claim the top spot after spending the past three years in second place, data shared with The Desk on Friday showed.
Amazon does not disclose the precise number of customers who use Prime Video or who pay for it separate from its Prime retail membership, and Netflix stopped reporting firm subscriber numbers earlier this year. Parks Associates previously said its Streaming Video Tracker ranker was based on numerous data sources, including information released by the companies themselves, third-party reports and its own modeling and forecasts.
Michael Goodman, the Senior Contributing Analyst at Parks Associates, concentrated his focus on Disney’s two streaming services, Disney Plus and Hulu, with Hulu capturing a larger share of American subscribers this year.
Goodman attributed the shift to novel pay television distribution deals reached over the past two years, which allowed Disney to boost the number of subscribers to both services, but which benefitted Hulu substantially.
Earlier this year, DIRECTV launched several genre-based streaming packages that include Disney-owned services, with its MyEntertainment plan offering Disney Plus and Hulu. Weeks later, Charter announced it was offering Hulu in its Spectrum TV Select package, which already included access to Disney Plus, at no extra cost
“The Charter deal gave Hulu instant access to millions of households, reinforcing how vital partnerships between broadband providers and streamers have become in defining the new entertainment bundle, and the ability to scale,” Goodman said.
Other companies have leaned into the same idea over the past year, with Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) allowing DIRECTV to offer the ad-supported version of HBO Max (previously called Max) in its MyEntertainment bundle. At the end of September, wallet-conscious streamer Philo began offering the same plan in its core subscription tier, which costs $33 per month.
Notably, HBO Max fell on Parks Associates’ ranker this year, moving from sixth place to seventh, with Paramount Plus pulling ahead. No reason was given for the shuffle, but WBD did lose live rights to National Basketball Association (NBA) games earlier this year, while Paramount Plus added more sports to its service.
Comcast’s Peacock ranked in fifth place — ahead of Paramount Plus and HBO Max — while Apple TV Plus (soon to rebrand as Apple TV) clocked in eighth place. YouTube Premium and ESPN Plus rounded out the bunch.
Parks Associates will share more streaming-related data points during its Future of Video conference in Southern California next week. The Desk is an editorial partner of the event.
