Over 80% of U.S. households now subscribed to SVOD service

A new study by Leichtman Research Group notes that an impressive 88% of U.S. households are now subscribed to at least one SVOD of DTC service, underscoring the continued shift in how Americans consume content.

The research finds that 83% of U.S. households are currently subscribed to at least one of the big three Subscription Video On-Demand (SVOD) services: Netflix, Amazon Prime, or Hulu. This statistic remains unchanged from the previous year, but shows a marked increase from 78% in 2020, 69% in 2018, and just over half the households in 2015.

While the big three remain dominant, they are no longer the only players in streaming.

Twelve other streaming video services have made their mark, accounting for an additional 5% of households that have at least one SVOD or Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) service beyond the top three. This growth means that 88% of households now have an SVOD/DTC service, a 6% growth since 2020. Furthermore, over half of all households (53%) are subscribed to four or more of such services, a significant leap from 33% in 2020.

The study surveyed 2,101 households nationwide and is the seventeenth annual study on this topic by LRG.

Other key findings include

• The average household now subscribes to 4.1 SVOD/DTC services, up from 2.9 in 2020.
• Younger viewers (ages 18-44) tend to have more subscriptions, with an average of 5.1 services, compared to 3.7 for those aged 45-64 and just 2.2 for those 65 and older.
• The daily streaming habit is growing, with 42% of adults streaming a top SVOD service every day—a number that has grown steadily from 16% in 2015.
• Young adults, those aged 18-44, are the most frequent streamers, making up 59% of daily SVOD users.
• The shift towards mobile and other non-TV devices is evident, with 57% of adults watching videos on these platforms daily, a number that has been on the rise since 2015.