Streaming services
Early stages of the market
A group of ex-PayPal employees founded YouTube in 2005. Seeing the success
of it, DVD rental company Netflix scrapped its planned streaming device and
launched an internet-based streaming service instead.
Only a year after the launch of YouTube, Google acquired it for $1.65 billion. At
the time, it was seen as an extravagant purchase, for a nascent technology
which hadn’t generated any meaningful revenue. But, for Netflix and Amazon, it
was confirmation that this market was set for spectacular growth in the next
decade.
Amazon launched Prime Video in 2006 and across the pond, the BBC launched
iPlayer in 2007. All of the inaugural players were active, although it would take a
few more years for recommendation systems to mature and revenue to generate.
In China, the earliest platforms had already begun operations before YouTube.
Youku and Todou, the original pioneers of video streaming, launched in 2003
and 2005, respectively. It would be five years before Tencent, Alibaba and Baidu
took an interest in the market.
Baidu launched iQiyi in 2010, which was the first foray into premium video
streaming in China. Tencent Video came shortly afterwards, although until 2013
both were primarily focused on free, user generated content.
The turning point
A major turning point in video streaming came in 2013, when Netflix debuted House of
Cards, its first original series. Until then, Netflix, Amazon and other streaming services
spent almost all their content budget acquiring older TV shows and movies, which had
already been released on television or in the cinema.
With this move, Netflix altered the power dynamics by showing it could create quality
content that millions would watch. In the next few years, it would launch some of the
most popular TV shows of the decade, including Orange is the New Black, Stranger
Things and Narcos.
Amazon followed suit in 2015, with the launch of The Man in the High Castle and Mr.
Robot. Even Hulu, a streaming service owned by the four big US media corporations as
a way to combat Netflix’s success, began publishing its own shows.
Netflix, encouraged by growing subscription numbers (60 million to 110 million in three
years), has increased its content spend every year. In 2020, it spent $17 billion on
content, up from $15.3 billion in 2019.
Film and TV studios have not remained static over the past decade. AT&T (owner of
WarnerMedia & HBO), Comcast (with NBC), CBS and Disney have all launched
streaming services to compete with Netflix. In the UK, ITV and Channel 4 have
launched streaming apps.
This has caused, at least in the US, Netflix and Amazon to invest heavier into original
content, as many of the shows and films owned by film and TV studios have been
removed from their service, such as The Office, Parks and Recreation and the Marvel
movies.
User generated content has had less of a fun time over the past five years. While
revenue and usage has increased, YouTube has been accused of promoting
harassment and disinformation, forcing it to change moderation policies to keep
advertisers happy.
The introduction of TikTok to the Western world in 2018 also created a new competitor
for YouTube, which is quickly becoming one of the most used apps in the world.
Bytedance is one of the new wave technology companies in China, competing with the
old guard of Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent. It operates Douyin, a Chinese version of
TikTok, which also has 400 million active monthly users, and Xigua Video, which has
270 million active users.
The coronavirus pandemic, far from being a detriment to the industry as it has to its
neighbours (cinemas, film studios), has produced a surge in subscribers and revenue.
Netflix added 25 million new subscribers in the first half of 2020, far outpacing its
projections. However, in 2022, the cracks started to show in Netflix’s armour, with its
first decline in monthly subscribers.
That said, as a whole the industry has a positive future outlook, with a continuing shift of
people moving from traditional programming (TV, cinema) to streaming. Some movies,
once held for more than six months after cinemas, are being released on streaming
platforms in conjunction with cinema release or just a few weeks afterwards.
Key video streaming app statistics
YouTube is the most popular free video streaming app in the US, Netflix is the most
popular paid-for app
In the UK, YouTube is the most popular app, but BBC and ITV are not far behind
China’s most popular video streaming platform is Tencent Video, with 900 million users
Top video streaming apps
The most popular video streaming service in the world, with over two billion
YouTube
active users. Has a Premium offering which removes ads
Netflix is the largest paid-for video streaming service in the world, with 195
Netflix
million subscribers and a $17 billion annual content spend
Amazon Prime One of the many perks of an Amazon Prime subscription, which has become a
Video force in its own right with hundreds of original
Launched in November 2019, Disney+ is already a global force in the video
Disney+
streaming market, with over 70 million subscribers worldwide
Apple has the deepest pockets of any company in the world, and is expected to
Apple TV+
shell out billions to make Apple TV+ a popular service
Hulu has a wide range of US television series, alongside a growing library of
Hulu
original content. It is owned by Disney
The most popular streaming service for video gaming, owned by Amazon.
Twitch
Twitch has over 150 million active users
HBO Max is the latest video streaming service for HBO content. It also includes
HBO Max
films and TV shows from Warner Media
NBC Universal's attempt to compete with Netflix. The network holds the rights to
Peacock
popular series Parks and Recreation and The Office
The premier streaming service for UK television programs, including Doctor
BBC iPlayer
Who, Sherlock and Planet Earth
The other half of British TV programming, responsible for hit TV shows Love
ITV Hub
Island, Downtown Abbey and Broadchurch
China's most popular video streaming service in usage and subscribers,
Tencent Video
broadcasts content from the BBC
Baidu's video streaming service, the first to sign licensing agreements with
iQiyi
Western production companies, including Netflix
The original video streaming service in China, somewhat overshadowed by
Youku
Tencent and Baidu's move to premium content
India's most popular video streaming service with over 300 million active users,
Hotstar
acquired by Disney in 2020
China's video game streaming industry is booming and DouYu is the
DouYu
most popular service, with over 170 million active users
US streaming projected market size 2018 to 2026 ($bn)
Youtube key statistics
YouTube generated $28.8 billion revenue in 2021, a 46% increase year-on-year
Over 2.5 billion people access YouTube once a month
YouTube’s most subscribed channel is T-Series, however Mr. Beast earned the most
revenue in 2021
YouTube Premium reached 50 million subscribers in 2021
YouTube overview
Launch date April 2005
HQ San Bruno, California
People Susan Wojcicki (CEO), Scott Silver (VP, Engineering), Sundar Pichai (Alphabet CEO)
Business type Subsidiary
Owner Alphabet
Industry Video streaming
YouTube revenue
YouTube has reported more than 30% revenue growth in the past four years. It
generated $28.8 billion in 2021, a 46% increase on 2020 figures.
YouTube quarterly revenue Q4 2018 to Q1 2022 ($bn)
YouTube annual revenue 2010 to 2021 ($bn)
Year Revenue ($bn)
2010 0.8
2011 1.3
2012 1.7
2013 3.1
2014 4.2
2015 5.5
2016 6.7
2017 8.1
2018 11.1
2019 15.1
2020 19.7
2021 28.8
YouTube channels revenue
YouTube channel Mr. Beast generated the most revenue in 2021, at $54 million. Jake
Paul and Markipiler came second and third, respectively.
Top YouTube channels by revenue 2021 ($mm)
Channels Revenue ($mm)
MrBeast 54
Jake Paul 45
Markiplier 38
Rhett and Link 30
Unspeakable 28.5
Nastya 28
Ryan Kaji 27
Dude Perfect 20
Logan Paul 18
Preston Arsement 16
YouTube quarterly users Q1 2010 to Q1 2022 (mm)
YouTube annual users 2010 to 2021 (bn)
Year Users (bn)
2010 0.2
2011 0.5
2012 0.7
2013 1
2014 1.1
2015 1.3
2016 1.5
2017 1.6
2018 1.8
2019 2
2020 2.3
2021 2.5
YouTube Premium annual subscribers 2015 to 2021 (mm)
Year Subscribers (mm)
2015 1.5
2016 3
2017 2.8
2018 10
2019 18
2020 30
2021 50
Netflix key statistics
Netflix generated $24.9 billion revenue in 2021, a 23.8% increase year-on-year
$12.97 billion of Netflix’s revenue was generated in North America, its largest market
Netflix had an operating profit of $5.1 billion in 2021, an 85% increase year-on-year
In 2022, Netflix had 222 million subscribers worldwide
Netflix overview
Title 1 Title 2
Launch date 29 August 1997, 15 January 2007 (streaming service launch)
HQ Los Gatos, California
Reed Hastings (co-CEO, founder), Ted Sarandos (co-CEO, chief content officer), Greg
People
Peters (COO, CPO)
Business
Public (NASDAQ: NFLX)
type
Industry Video streaming
Netflix revenue
Netflix generated $24.9 billion revenue in 2020, a 23.8% increase on the
previous year. It has reported higher revenues each quarter for more than a
decade.
Netflix quarterly revenue 2011 to 2022 ($mm)
Netflix annual revenue 2011 to 2021 ($bn)
Year Revenue ($bn)
2011 3.1
2012 3.5
2013 4.3
2014 5.4
2015 6.7
2016 8.8
2017 11.6
2018 15.7
2019 20.1
2020 24.9
Netflix revenue by region
Netflix earned 43% of its revenue from the US & Canada market, its largest region for
revenue and usage.
Netflix annual revenue by region 2018 to 2021 ($bn)
Year US & Canada EMEA Latin America Asia-Pacific
2018 8.28 3.95 2.22 0.94
2019 10.05 5.54 2.78 1.46
2020 11.45 7.77 3.13 2.37
2021 12.97 9.69 3.57 3.26
Netflix ARPU by region
Netflix also earns more revenue per user in the US & Canada market, at $14.78, while
in Latin America the ARPU in 2021 was at $8.14.
Netflix annual ARPU by region 2018 to 2021 ($bn)
Year US & Canada EMEA Latin America Asia-Pacific
2018 11.28 10.20 7.53 9.19
2019 13.22 10.51 8.18 9.07
2020 13.51 11.05 7.12 9.32
2021 14.78 11.64 8.14 9.26
Netflix profit
Netflix made $5.1 billion net profit in 2021, an 85% increase on the $2.7 billion it made
in 2020.
Netflix annual net income/loss ($mm)
Date Net Income/Loss ($mm)
2011 225
2012 17
2013 112
2014 266
2015 122
2016 188
2017 560
2018 1,211
2019 1,867
2020 2,761
2021 5,116
Netflix content spend
Netflix has increased its content spend every year, as it has added more
original content to the platform. In 2021, it spent $17 billion on content.
Netflix annual content spend ($bn)
Year Content spend ($bn)
2016 6.88
2017 8.91
2018 12
2019 13.9
2020 11.8
2021 17
Netflix subscribers
Netflix reached 222 million subscribers in 2021, but stalled in Q1 2022, losing 200,000
subscribers and wiping over 50% off its market cap.
Netflix quarterly revenue 2011 to 2022 (mm)
Netflix annual subscribers 2011 to 2021 (mm)
Date Subscribers (mm)
2011 21.5
2012 25.71
2013 35.63
2014 47.99
2015 62.71
2016 79.9
2017 99.04
2018 124.35
2019 151.56
2020 192.95
2021 209
Netflix subscribers by region
The US & Canada market has a slight edge in total subscribers, although it is likely that
the European market will surpass it in 2022.
Netflix annual subscribers by region 2018 to 2021 (mm)
Year US & Canada EMEA Latin America Asia-Pacific
2018 64.7 37.8 26 10.6
2019 67.6 51.7 31.4 16.2
2020 73.9 66.7 37.5 25.4
2021 75.2 74 39.9 32.6
Amazon key statistics
Amazon generated $470 billion revenue in 2021, making it the third largest company in
the world by revenue
Amazon Web Services was responsible for 13% of that revenue
Amazon earned $33.3 billion net income in 2021, around half of which came from AWS
Over 200 million customers subscribe to Amazon Prime worldwide, with 147 million in
the US alone
Amazon Prime Video had 175 million users in 2021, while Prime Music reached 68
million in 2021
Amazon overview
Launch date July 1994
HQ Seattle, Washington
People Jeff Bezos (executive chairman), Andy Jassy (president, CEO), Brian Olsavsky (CFO)
Business type Public (NASDAQ: AMZN)
Industry E-commerce
Amazon revenue
Amazon is the third largest public company by revenue in the world, behind Walmart
and China’s State Grid. It saw a 37.6% increase in revenue in 2020, its largest
percentage gain since 2011, partly due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Amazon quarterly revenue 2005 to 2022 ($bn)
Amazon annual revenue 2005 to 2021 ($bn)
Year Revenue ($bn)
2005 8.4
2006 10.7
2007 14.8
2008 19.1
2009 24.5
2010 34.2
2011 48
2012 61
2013 74.4
2014 88.9
2015 107
2016 135.9
2017 177.8
2018 232.8
2019 280.5
2020 386
2021 470.8
Amazon revenue breakdown
Amazon breaks out revenue by segment and region. Even though the majority of
revenue comes from e-commerce, Amazon is a first-party and third-party reseller,
alongside providing subscription services and owning Whole Foods.
Amazon revenue breakdown by segment 2014 to 2021 ($bn)
Third-
Online Physical Subscription
Year party AWS Advertising Other
stores stores services
retail
2014 68.5 11.7 2.7 4.6 1.3
2015 76.8 16 4.4 7.8 1.7
2016 91.4 22.9 6.3 12.2 2.9
2017 108.3 5.8 31.8 9.7 17.4 4.6
2018 122.9 17.2 42.7 14.1 25.6 10.1
2019 141.2 17.1 53.7 19.2 35 14
2020 197.2 16.2 80.4 25.2 45.3 15.5 5.9
2021 222 17 103.3 31.7 62.2 31.1 3.4
Amazon revenue breakdown by region 2006 to 2021 ($bn)
Year North America International AWS
2006 5.6 4.8
2007 8.1 6.7
Year North America International AWS
2008 10.2 8.9
2009 12.8 11.6
2010 18.7 15.5
2011 26.7 21.3
2012 34.8 26.2
2013 44.5 29.9
2014 50.8 33.5 4.9
2015 63.7 35.4 7.8
2016 79.7 43.9 12.2
2017 106.1 54.3 17.4
2018 141.3 65.8 25.6
2019 170.2 74.7 35
2020 236.2 104.4 45.3
Amazon profit
Amazon was considered a low-profit venture for the first decade and a half of its
existence, with CEO Jeff Bezos reinvesting most of Amazon’s profits back into the
company. This is no longer the case, with highly profitable segments like AWS pushing
the company’s total profit above $10 billion in 2018 and $20 billion in 2020.
Amazon quarterly net income 2005 to 2022 ($mm)
Amazon annual net income 2005 to 2021 ($bn)
Year Profit ($bn)
2005 0.35
2006 0.19
2007 0.47
2008 0.64
Year Profit ($bn)
2009 0.9
2010 1.15
2011 0.63
2012 -0.03
2013 -0.27
2014 -0.24
2015 0.59
2016 2.37
2017 3.03
2018 10.07
2019 11.58
2020 21.33
2021 33.36
Amazon Web Services revenue
What started off as a side venture inside of Amazon has become a significant part of the
company’s profit margin growth. It is the largest cloud computing service in the world
with an estimated 32% of the total cloud market.
Amazon Web Services quarterly revenue ($bn)
Amazon Web Services annual revenue ($bn)
Year Revenue ($bn)
2014 4.6
2015 7.8
2016 12.2
2017 17.4
2018 25.6
2019 35
2020 45.3
Year Revenue ($bn)
2021 62.1
Amazon subscription revenue
The bulk of Amazon’s subscription revenue comes from Prime, through which it also
offers video and music streaming, free books and magazines, photo storage and other
perks.
Amazon annual subscription revenue 2014 to 2021 ($bn)
Year Revenue ($bn)
2014 2.7
2015 4.4
2016 6.3
2017 9.7
2018 14.1
2019 19.2
2020 25.2
Year Revenue ($bn)
2021 31.7
Amazon advertising revenue
Amazon has built a rather respectable advertising platform, which it runs on its store. In
2021, it made more revenue than PayPal or eBay.
Amazon annual advertising revenue 2020 to 2021 ($bn)
Year Revenue ($bn)
2020 15.5
2021 31.1
Amazon valuation
Amazon’s valuation has skyrocketed in the past five years, from $172 billion in 2015 to
$1.6 trillion in 2022. Amazon was one of the big winners of the coronavirus pandemic, in
terms of stock price, with a 67% increase in valuation from March 2020 to March 2021.
Amazon annual valuation 2010 to 2022 ($bn)
Year Valuation ($bn)
2010 58
2011 75.8
2012 83.5
Year Valuation ($bn)
2013 119.1
2014 171.1
2015 172.3
2016 274.5
2017 406.5
2018 760.6
2019 866.5
2020 919.3
2021 1549.7
2022 1641.5
Amazon Prime subscribers
Amazon Prime has grown in value as Amazon has expanded its store and delivery
targets. With Video, Music, e-books, magazines, cloud storage and other add-ons,
Amazon has created a lock-in effect similar to Apple’s iOS.
Amazon Prime annual subscribers 2016 to 2021 (mm)
Year Subscribers (mm)
2016 46
2017 66
Year Subscribers (mm)
2018 100
2019 120
2020 150
2021 200
Amazon Prime content spend
Amazon spent $13 billion on content for Amazon Prime Video in 2021, a $2 billion
increase on 2020 figures.
Year Content spend ($bn)
2015 2.6
2016 3.3
2017 4.5
2018 5.5
2019 7.8
Year Content spend ($bn)
2020 11
2021 13
Amazon Prime Music users
Prime Music reached 68 million users in 2021, making it the third most popular music
streaming platform in the West. It does not disclose how many users pay for the service,
as Prime Music is available for free with ads.
Amazon Prime Music annual users 2018 to 2021 (mm)
Year Users (mm)
2018 16
2019 32
2020 55
2021 68
Disney Plus key statistics
Disney Plus generated $5.2 billion revenue in 2021, an 85% increase year-on-year
Disney Plus reached over 100 million subscribers in March 2021
The app has been downloaded over 200 million times since launch
Disney Plus overview
Launch date 12 November 2019
HQ Burbank, California
People Michael Paull (President, Disney+), Eric Lieberman (SVP)
Launch date 12 November 2019
Business type Subsidiary
Owner The Walt Disney Company
Disney Plus revenue
Disney Plus has increased its revenue by 85% in 2021, from $2.6 billion it made in its
first year of operation.
Disney Plus quarterly revenue 2020 to 2022 ($mm)
Disney Plus annual revenue 2020 to 2021 ($bn)
Year Revenue ($bn)
2020 2.8
2021 5.2
Disney Plus users
Disney Plus had 137.7 million subscribers in Q2 2022, a 32% increase on the previous
year.
Disney Plus quarterly subscribers 2020 to 2022 (mm)
Disney Plus annual subscribers 2020 to 2022 (mm)
Year Subscribers (mm)
2020 33.5
2021 103.6
2022 137.7
Disney Plus downloads
Disney Plus increase its total downloads in 2021, from 110 million in 2020 to 126 million
in 2021.
Disney Plus annual downloads (mm)
Year Downloads (mm)
2020 110.9
2021 126.8
Global streaming value
The global video streaming market size was valued at USD372.07 billion in
2021. The market is projected to grow from USD 473.39 billion in 2022 to
USD 1,690 billion by 2029, exhibiting a CAGR of 19.9% during the forecast
period. The global covid-19 pandemic has been unprecedented and
staggering, with video streaming experiencing higher than anticipated
demand across all regions compared to pre-pandemic levels. Based on my
analysis, the global market exhibited a higher growth of 5.7% in 2020 as
compared to 2019
