TV streaming statistics: The most popular streaming services in the UK

Streaming services have changed the way we watch TV. No longer do you need to wait a week for the next episode of your favourite show. Whether you stream with Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney Plus, NOW TV or another service, almost 19 million households in the UK now shell out from their bank accounts for at least 1 streaming subscription.

UK streaming statistics: Highlights

• Two-thirds of Brits (65%) have a streaming subscription service, which is around 18.8 million households.
• Almost half of Brits (45%) have 2 or more streaming subscription services, which is around 13.3 million households.
• Netflix is the most popular streaming service in the UK, with more than half of households subscribed (57%).

How many people have a streaming service in the UK?

18.8 million households (65.4%) have access to a streaming subscription service such as Netflix or Amazon Prime as of December 2023. This number is down slightly from September 2023, when 19.3 million households (67.3%) were subscribed to a video-on-demand service. This decrease may be due to rising subscription prices and people cutting costs.

12.8 million households (44.7%) have 2 or more streaming services as of December 2023, down from 13.3 million households (46.4%) in September 2023.

What are the most popular streaming services in the UK?

Netflix is the most popular streaming service in the UK, with over 16 million households subscribed as of December 2023, more than half of UK households (56.7%). It is followed by Amazon Prime, which has 12.4 million households paying for a regular subscription, just over 2 in 5 households (43.1%).

Disney+ is in third place with 7.3 million subscribers, a quarter of households (25.6%), an impressive feat considering it was only launched in 2020. Paramount+ is the UK’s fourth most popular streaming service, with around 1.99 million subscribed households (6.9%).

• Chart
• Table

• Previous research: streaming statistics 2022

  What is the most popular streaming platform in the UK in 2022?

  Our survey found that Netflix remains the most popular TV streaming platform, with 62% of the UK having used it in the past 12 months. Since 2019, there has been a 15% increase of Netflix users. Amazon Prime is next and while having seen a 20% increase since 2019, is still a fair way behind Netflix. Almost 1 in 2 (48%) of the UK have streamed with Amazon Prime.

  It is followed by Disney Plus. While this service only launched at the end of 2019, already 1 in 3 people in the UK (33%) have used it in the past 12 months. These 3 are followed by Sky Go (17%) and NOW TV (13%), but both have seen usage decline dramatically by 28% and 35% since 2019, respectively.

  • Graph
  • Table

  Streaming service	2022	2019
  Netflix	62%	54%
  Amazon Prime	48%	40%
  Disney+	33%	0%
  Sky Go	17%	24%
  NOW TV	13%	19%
  TV Player	9%	23%
  Apple TV +	8%	8%
  BT TV	7%	13%
  Britbox	6%	0%
  Rakuten TV	3%	6%
  Hayu	3%	6%
  DAZN	3%	0%
  BFI Player	2%	0%
  MUBI	1%	4%

  Gender split of most popular streaming services in 2022

  Women (96%) use TV streaming services more than men (83%) our survey found. These differences show over three-quarters of women have used Netflix in the past 12 months compared to less than half of men (48%). More women (56%) used Amazon Prime than men (39%), Disney Plus (45% to 19%), Apple TV (9% to 6%) and NOW TV (15% to 10%).

  Platforms where men are bigger users than women include Sky Go (17.3% to 16.5%), BT TV (8% to 6%), Rakuten TV (3.10% to 2.90%) and Britbox (7% to 5%).

  • Graph
  • Table

  Streaming service	Male	Female
  Netflix	48%	76%
  Amazon Prime	39%	56%
  Disney+	19%	45%
  Sky Go	17%	17%
  NOW TV	10%	15%
  TV Player	8%	10%
  Apple TV +	6%	9%
  BT TV	8%	6%
  Britbox	7%	5%
  Rakuten TV	3%	3%
  Hayu	1%	4%
  DAZN	3%	2%
  BFI Player	2%	2%
  MUBI	1%	1%

  Generational differences: Which streaming platform is the most popular for the age groups in 2022?

  It may come as no surprise that Netflix is the most popular platform with all generations. With millenials (73%) the highest users of this service, followed by generation X (67%), generation Z (66%), baby boomers (52%) and the silent generation with 31%.

  The youngest generation, gen Z, are the highest consumers of streaming platforms in general, with 99% of this generation having used a streaming service in the past year. With 96% of millenials having used a streaming platform, followed by 92% of gen X. Over 4 in 5 baby boomers (82%) follow, with an interesting less than two-thirds of the silent generation (63%) having used a streaming platform in the past year,

  • Graph
  • Table

  Streaming service	Generation Z	Millennials	Generation X	Baby boomers	Silent generation
  Netflix	66%	73%	67%	52%	31%
  Amazon Prime	43%	57%	50%	42%	30%
  Disney+	48%	47%	32%	16%	6%
  Sky Go	21%	18%	16%	16%	10%
  NOW TV	18%	18%	11%	8%	2%
  I do not use any streaming services	1%	4%	8%	18%	37%
  TV Player	14%	8%	8%	8%	10%
  Apple TV +	18%	12%	6%	2%	1%
  BT TV	12%	7%	4%	6%	6%
  Britbox	7%	6%	5%	6%	2%
  Rakuten TV	7%	3%	2%	2%	0%
  Hayu	4%	5%	3%	0%	0%
  DAZN	6%	4%	2%	1%	0%
  BFI Player	3%	2%	2%	1%	0%
  MUBI	3%	2%	1%	0%	0%

  Using Illegal streaming platforms in the UK

  Our survey found that Brits do also use illegal streaming services. With many streaming services offering different content, it can be add up to a considerable amount for users to watch all of their entertainment.

  Movies and TV shows also saw plenty of people watching them through illicit means. 2.25 million people (4.3%) opted not to go to the cinema, pay for a movie at home or for a streaming service last year.

  Almost 1 in 20 (4.3%), which equates to 2.25 million people, have watched a movie or TV show using an illegal streaming service in the past year.

  Just under 4% (2 million people) have used an illegal service to stream sport at least once in the past year. Of these people, 1.25 million Brits (2%) have streamed a Premier League match illegally in the past 12 months.

  • Graph
  • Table

  Year	2022	2019
  Premier League football	2.40%	8.60%
  Films	2.40%	10.30%
  All sports (exc Football)	2.35%	7.30%

  Methodology

  • Finder commissioned Censuswide on 27–29 July 2022 to carry out a nationally representative survey of adults aged 18+. A total of 2,002 people were questioned throughout Great Britain, with representative quotas for gender, age and region.

• Previous research: streaming statistics 2020

  Quick overview

  • 53% of all households in the UK are subscribed to at least 1 online streaming service. This is up 5.2% from Q4 2019 and equivalent to 1,500,000 homes.
  • 6.7 million (24%) homes subscribed to 2 or more services.
  • In Q1 2020, Netflix is the UK’s most popular streaming service reporting more than 13 million subscriptions in the UK, while Amazon Prime has 7.9 million and NOW has 1.6 million.
  • The global revenue of online streaming services is £40.1 billion, of which £1.5 billion comes from the UK. The services are making approximately £45.44 per user every year.

  12.6%

  more homes have at least 1 streaming subscription in Q1 2020 compared to Q1 2019.

  The UK’s most popular streaming services

  Our graph illustrates which of the streaming services the British public used in 2017, 2018 and 2019. The services are ranked based on new subscribers each year.

  Netflix is steadily climbing the ladder and getting more and more of our attention every year. From being used by 54% of streamers, it’s now up to 75%, making it the most popular service in the UK. Second is BBC Player, which actually lost 1 point in 2019 compared to 2018.

  YouTube is a strong contender with its paid-for service YouTube Premium, offering the same videos but without advertisements, has joined the contest in 2019. 2% of those who use subscription services now use the channel’s Premium selection.

  The biggest losers in 2019 compared to 2018 are Google Play and iTunes, which started low but lost 33.33% and 40% of their viewers, respectively.

  The number of people watching in the UK

  Netflix is by far the most popular streaming service in the UK, with more than 13 million subscribers. Amazon Prime Video is not far behind after experiencing a bigger growth over the last 2 years, decreasing the difference between the 2 services. Amazon has had an average increase of subscribers of 28% per year, compared to Netflix’s 20% increase.

  NOW hasn’t been as lucky. Any new subscribers during 2019 both came and left, leaving the service steady on 1.62 million subscribers. Of 2020’s newcomers, Disney Plus started off strongly with its launch getting 4.3 million subscribers in the UK as of June 2020.

  6.7 million (24%) households are signed up to 2 services or more. The most common duo-subscription is Netflix and Amazon Prime, with 32% of people having both. 6.1% have Netflix, Amazon Prime and NOW.

  Streaming service	2018	2019	2020	Average increase per year
  Netflix	9.11 million	11.47 million	13.01 million	19.67%
  Amazon	4.83 million	5.96 million	7.86 million	27.64%
  Now TV	1.46 million	1.62 million	1.62 million	5.48%
  Disney +			4.6 million

  Streaming during the coronavirus pandemic

  As the COVID-19 lockdown hadn’t started in the UK until Q2, we will keep you updated on how the pandemic affected the subscription services’ numbers. But from what we can see already at the company’s own estimations, Netflix is comforting many people during lockdown with over 167 million subscribers worldwide. Between January and March 2020, the service anticipated an increase in subscribers of 16.9%, giving it 174.1 million paid subscriptions.

  There have been few winners during the pandemic, but Disney is definitely one of them. Upon launching on 24 March 2020 in the UK, the Disney Plus subscription service had over 5 million downloads for its app and had 4.6 million subscribers as of June 2020.

  Devices used for streaming

  The device that is used the most for streaming is the TV, with 42% of people saying they use this method to stream. The second most popular screen is the computer, with 39% using this. With an average of 34% positive responses, mobile phones and tablets are also popular options.

  The growth of the UK’s biggest streaming service

  With 13.01 million subscribers in the UK, Netflix is the UK’s biggest streaming service in subscriptions. The financial side is not looking bad either.

  The graph below shows Netflix’s exponential growth in revenue over an 18-year period, which demonstrates its ongoing spike in popularity.

  In 2019, revenue has increased by larger and larger increments, with revenue being its highest ever at almost £15.72 billion. Over the last 3 years on the graph, revenue increased at an average of 25% each year. This year, the company is making £17.64 billion in revenue as of June 2020, so the number is expected to rise before the end of the first year of the decade.

  Streaming wars

  When choosing which streaming service to sign up to, it can be hard knowing which one to pick. It might not just be about the numbers of titles, but it can be an indicator.

  Making this important choice in the UK, Amazon Prime actually has the widest selection of titles to watch, with close to 20,000 titles, although not all are included in the subscription. Netflix offers 5,500 titles and there are almost 900 films and series available on Disney Plus. Depending on if you want to watch a good nostalgic marathon or the show everyone seems to be talking about, the subscription service you choose will be crucial.

  For another point of view, subscription services are also in the running for different movie awards. Between 2015 and 2019, Netflix got 30 nominations for the Academy Award for original content. It ended up winning 20% of those nominations, taking home 6 awards.

  During the same timespan, Amazon had 11 nominations and 3 wins, winning the award 27% of the time.

  Sources

  Office for National Statistics
  AudienceProject
  Netflix
  Much needed

Click here for more research. For all media enquiries, please contact:

Matt Mckenna
UK communications manager
T: +44 20 8191 8806