Rival Streaming Services Slowly Erode Netflix's U.S. Market Dominance
A new eMarketer report shows that while Netflix remains the top subscription streaming service in the U.S., competitors like Amazon Prime Video and Hulu are steadily chipping away at its market share. The decline comes as new heavyweights like Disney prepare to launch aggressive bundle options.
A new report from eMarketer reveals that Netflix remains the top subscription streaming service in the U.S., but its market share shrinks as competitors gain ground. Netflix currently boasts 158.8 million viewers and continues to grow, but its dominance drops from 90% in 2014 to 87% in 2019. This decline occurs even as the overall over-the-top streaming market expands to reach 182.5 million U.S. consumers this year.
Rival platforms drive this shift in the streaming landscape. Hulu experiences significant growth by reaching an estimated 75.8 million U.S. viewers, while Amazon Prime Video holds its position as the second-largest provider with 96.5 million viewers. eMarketer projects that Prime Video alone will reach a third of the U.S. population by 2021, further fragmenting the audience that Netflix once easily controlled.
Netflix faces even greater challenges ahead with the impending launch of the Disney+ bundle, which packages Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ at a price matching a standard Netflix subscription. Despite these mounting threats, Netflix relies on its proven strategy of outspending rivals on original and licensed content. Highly anticipated releases like "Stranger Things" and Martin Scorsese's "The Irishman" help fuel a projected 7.6% growth in U.S. users for the year.