8 Services Tracked ยท May 2026

Streaming Wars

Scoreboard

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302M Netflix Subs$210B Content Spend+171% Disney+ Hike8 Services Tracked
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Netflix Subscribers
0M
Q4 2024 โ€” last reported figure
๐•
Industry Content Spend
$0B
2024 all-media total
๐•
Disney+ Price Hike
+0%
$6.99 โ†’ $18.99 since 2019
๐•
Netflix Premium Today
$0.00/mo
Was $7.99 in 2010 (+213%)
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Global SVOD Subscriptions
0.0B+
2025 worldwide estimate
๐Ÿ“บ Netflix โ€” 302M subscribers โ€” Q4 2024 all-time record๐Ÿ’ธ Disney+ โ€” +171% price hike โ€” $6.99 โ†’ $18.99 since 2019๐ŸŽฌ Industry content โ€” $210B spent in 2024 โ€” new all-time record๐Ÿ“ˆ Netflix Q4 2024 โ€” +19M subs in one quarter โ€” largest ever๐Ÿš€ Disney+ โ€” 0 to 164M subscribers โ€” in just 3 years๐Ÿ’ฐ Netflix Premium โ€” $7.99 โ†’ $24.99 โ€” +213% since 2010๐ŸŽฅ Apple TV+ โ€” $4.99 โ†’ $12.99 โ€” +160% in 6 years๐Ÿฆš Peacock โ€” 36M subscribers โ€” end of 2024โญ Apple TV+ โ€” never officially reports subscriber count๐Ÿ“ฑ Netflix โ€” stopped reporting subs โ€” starting Q1 2025๐ŸŽญ Max โ€” rebranded to HBO Max โ€” for the second time in 2025๐Ÿ”ฅ Hulu โ€” 50M paid subscribers โ€” end of 2024๐Ÿ“ก Global SVOD โ€” 1.5B+ subscriptions โ€” 2025 total๐Ÿ’ต Amazon โ€” $18.9B content spend โ€” in 2023 alone๐Ÿฟ Top 6 streamers โ€” $126B content spend โ€” just in 2024๐Ÿ“Š Paramount+ โ€” nearly doubled entry price โ€” in under 5 years๐Ÿ“บ Netflix โ€” 302M subscribers โ€” Q4 2024 all-time record๐Ÿ’ธ Disney+ โ€” +171% price hike โ€” $6.99 โ†’ $18.99 since 2019๐ŸŽฌ Industry content โ€” $210B spent in 2024 โ€” new all-time record๐Ÿ“ˆ Netflix Q4 2024 โ€” +19M subs in one quarter โ€” largest ever๐Ÿš€ Disney+ โ€” 0 to 164M subscribers โ€” in just 3 years๐Ÿ’ฐ Netflix Premium โ€” $7.99 โ†’ $24.99 โ€” +213% since 2010๐ŸŽฅ Apple TV+ โ€” $4.99 โ†’ $12.99 โ€” +160% in 6 years๐Ÿฆš Peacock โ€” 36M subscribers โ€” end of 2024โญ Apple TV+ โ€” never officially reports subscriber count๐Ÿ“ฑ Netflix โ€” stopped reporting subs โ€” starting Q1 2025๐ŸŽญ Max โ€” rebranded to HBO Max โ€” for the second time in 2025๐Ÿ”ฅ Hulu โ€” 50M paid subscribers โ€” end of 2024๐Ÿ“ก Global SVOD โ€” 1.5B+ subscriptions โ€” 2025 total๐Ÿ’ต Amazon โ€” $18.9B content spend โ€” in 2023 alone๐Ÿฟ Top 6 streamers โ€” $126B content spend โ€” just in 2024๐Ÿ“Š Paramount+ โ€” nearly doubled entry price โ€” in under 5 years

What $210 Billion Buys

In 2024, the media industry spent $210 billion on content โ€” a new all-time record. Here's how individual streamers' budgets compare to other massive spending categories.

Netflix ($17B)$17B
More than the GDP of Iceland ($26B)
Amazon ($20B)$20B
Larger than the US State Department budget
Disney ($24B)$24B
Equal to all of Hollywood's box office combined
Comcast/NBC ($24.5B)$24.5B
More than the US foreign aid budget ($22B)
All Streamers ($210B)$210B
More than twice the US defense R&D budget ($100B)

The Subscriber Race, 2020โ€“2024

Global Subscribers by Service
Paid subscribers in millions, year-end figures. Disney drop in 2023 reflects Hotstar India restructuring.
Sources: Netflix, Disney, Paramount SEC 8-K filings; Demandsage, Expandedramblings
Current Subscribers (2024)
All services ranked by total paid subscribers.
Source: SEC filings; * = estimate
Price Hike Since Launch (%)
Standard/entry ad-free tier. Disney+ leads at +171%.
Source: agoodmovietowatch.com price histories

Price History & Content Spending

Netflix Standard Plan: 2010โ€“2025
From $7.99 to $17.99 โ€” the price more than doubled in 15 years of relentless hikes.
Source: androidauthority.com Netflix price history
2024 Content Spend by Company
Netflix's $17B is streaming-only. Disney/Comcast figures include linear TV channels.
Source: Variety, company annual reports
Netflix Subscriber Journey: 2015โ€“2024
From 74.8M to 302M paid subscribers โ€” adding more users in 2024 alone (41M) than existed in its first 7 years combined.
Source: Netflix SEC 8-K annual earnings filings

Streaming Service Scorecard

Every major streaming service ranked by subscribers, price, price hike since launch, and content spend. Click any column to sort.

ServiceSubscribersMonthly PricePrice HikeContent SpendLaunchedGrade
Netflix302M$17.99+100%$17B2007A
Amazon Prime~200M$8.99+30%$20B2011A
Max128M$16.99+13%$16.8B2020Aโˆ’
Disney+125M$15.99+171%$24B2019B
Paramount+75M$7.99+80%$15.1B2021C+
Hulu50M$7.99+58%Incl. Disney2008B+
Apple TV+~45M$12.99+160%$7B2019Bโˆ’
Peacock36M$7.99+120%$4.5B2020C

Each Service, Profiled

Netflix
Since 2007
+100%
Subscribers
302M
Monthly
$17.99/mo
Content Budget
$17B/yr
Price Hike
+100%
Known for: Stranger Things, Squid Game, Wednesday
Crossed 300M subscribers in 2024, then stopped reporting the count in Q1 2025. Now focuses on ad-tier revenue and engagement metrics.
Disney+
Since 2019
+171%
Subscribers
125M
Monthly
$15.99/mo
Content Budget
$24B/yr
Price Hike
+171%
Known for: Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, Disney classics
Reached 100M subscribers in 16 months. Netflix took 10 years. Price more than doubled. Cut content spend from $30B (2022 peak) to $24B by 2024.
Max
Since 2020
+13%
Subscribers
128M
Monthly
$16.99/mo
Content Budget
$16.8B/yr
Price Hike
+13%
Known for: House of the Dragon, The Last of Us, prestige HBO
Highest content quality per subscriber. Rebranded HBO Max โ†’ Max โ†’ HBO Max in 3 years. The HBO brand came back after research showed subscribers valued it.
Amazon Prime
Since 2011
+30%
Subscribers
~200M
Monthly
$8.99/mo
Content Budget
$20B/yr
Price Hike
+30%
Known for: Thursday Night Football, The Boys, Rings of Power
Bundled with Prime shipping. Most subscribers forget they're paying for it. $8.99/mo is add-on; full Prime is $14.99/mo.
Hulu
Since 2008
+58%
Subscribers
50M
Monthly
$7.99/mo
Content Budget
Incl. in Disney
Price Hike
+58%
Known for: Same-day TV, Handmaid's Tale, FX originals
Only major streamer offering next-day broadcast TV. Disney-owned since 2019. Ad-free tier is $18.99/mo โ€” $7.99 shown is the ad-supported plan.
Apple TV+
Since 2019
+160%
Subscribers
~45M
Monthly
$12.99/mo
Content Budget
$7B/yr
Price Hike
+160%
Known for: Severance, Ted Lasso, The Morning Show
Spends most per show of any streamer. Has never disclosed official subscriber numbers. Eddy Cue said in 2025 it's "significantly more than 45M."
Paramount+
Since 2021
+80%
Subscribers
75M
Monthly
$7.99/mo
Content Budget
$15.1B/yr
Price Hike
+80%
Known for: Star Trek, Yellowstone, NFL, UEFA Champions League
Absorbed Showtime in 2023. Skydance Media completed its Paramount acquisition in late 2024. Sports rights (NFL + UEFA) remain its key differentiator.
Peacock
Since 2020
+120%
Subscribers
36M
Monthly
$7.99/mo
Content Budget
$4.5B/yr
Price Hike
+120%
Known for: NFL Sunday Night Football, The Office, Bravo
Still not profitable with 36M subscribers. Entry price more than doubled since launch. Ad-free tier (Premium Plus) is $13.99/mo.

Dramatic Moments

Disney+ Lost 52M Subs "Overnight"
In Q4 2023, Disney restructured its India business and spun off Hotstar. The subscriber count dropped from 161M to 111M in a single quarter โ€” a 52M paper loss from one regional reorganization.
Netflix Lost Subscribers for the First Time
After adding 203M during COVID, Netflix lost 970K subscribers in Q2 2022. The stock fell 35% in one day. It then turned around and added a record 41M new subscribers in 2024 alone.
Max Rebranded Itself Twice in 3 Years
HBO Max launched in 2020, was rebranded to plain "Max" in 2023 (dropping the prestigious HBO name for a cheaper feel), then brought the HBO branding back in 2025 after subscriber research showed the mistake.
Apple TV+ Has Never Said How Many Subscribers It Has
Six years after launch, Apple has made one vague disclosure: CEO Eddy Cue said in 2025 that Apple TV+ has "significantly more than 45 million" subscribers. No hard number has ever been published.
Netflix Stopped Counting Subscribers
In Q1 2025, Netflix announced it would stop reporting subscriber counts โ€” just after crossing 300M. The company is pivoting to revenue per user and advertising growth as the new core metrics.

Key Insights

๐Ÿ†Netflix Won. Now What?
At 302M subscribers โ€” more than double its nearest streaming-only rival โ€” Netflix no longer needs subscriber count to prove dominance. Its new focus: squeezing more revenue from each viewer via ads and price hikes.
๐Ÿ’ธDisney's $30B Content Bet Backfired
Disney peaked at $30B in content spending in FY2022 in a Netflix-style growth sprint. By FY2024 it cut to $24B โ€” an admission that the spending arms race was burning cash without proportional subscriber gains.
๐Ÿ“ˆEvery Service Has Raised Prices Hard
5 of the 7 major services have raised prices 80%+ since launch. Disney+ leads at +171%. Even Max โ€” which started expensive at $14.99 โ€” is up 23%. The era of cheap streaming is definitively over.
๐ŸŽฌ$210B Content Arms Race in 2024
Streamers spent a combined $210B on content in 2024 โ€” more than 10ร— the inflation-adjusted cost of the Apollo program. Netflix's $17B is the most disciplined of the major players. Comcast and Disney each topped $24B.
๐Ÿ”ฎConsolidation Is Coming
Peacock, Paramount+, and Max are all unprofitable or barely breaking even. With subscriber growth plateauing, the next phase is mergers, bundles, and likely one or two service shutdowns within 3 years.