Ranking Major Streaming Services for 2024

The 2023 TV landscape became the year of AVOD. Netflix and Disney+ completed their first full years with advertising tiers in 2023, and streamers like Prime Video and AMC+ also announced their AVOD entrances. However, the year was also marked by consolidation and rebranding, which are trends that will likely continue in 2024 and beyond. As part of Adweek’s year-in-review coverage, we took a deep dive into the major streaming services, how they compare at the end of a transformative year and what 2024 might bring. Here are the biggest takeaways from the state of streaming heading into the new year: The Most Important Things 28 TV Execs and Insiders Learned in 2023 Netflix’s big numbers Netflix had an unexpectedly great year. The world’s biggest streaming service initially struggled in 2022, losing subscribers for the first time since 2011, missing projected net adds and announcing it would debut an advertising tier after years of refusal. But it quickly got back on track. In 2023, Netflix ended the year by adding nearly 9 million subscribers in the third quarter, bringing its total to more than 247 million paying subscribers. For comparison, the streamer finished with 223.09 million in 2022. Much of that growth came from its password crackdown. Paid sharing led to fewer cancellations than expected, which let the streamer raise prices once again. The ad-supported tier is also rapidly scaling up, with almost 70% quarter-over-quarter growth and 30% of all new sign-ups in countries with ad-supported tiers going towards that plan. In August, Netflix closed its first-ever TV upfront, announcing it had doubled its monthly active ad tier users globally to more than 10 million at the time. By November, that number had climbed to 15 million. Inside the House of Mouse Disney’s flagship streamer, Disney+, now reaches 150.2 million subscribers globally, down 14 million from the 164.2 million it ended with in 2022. However, most of that loss came from India-based Disney+ Hotstar after a strategy shift to move away from low-margin subscribers. The streamer also ended the year by adding 7 million subscribers in the fourth fiscal quarter, including nearly 2 million to its ad-supported tier. Recently, the company announced that 50% of new Disney+ subscribers choose the ad tier, and from March to September 2023, the service has seen a 35% increase in engagement. And the streamer has big things coming in 2024. In November, the company moved to acquire the final 33% stake in Hulu, held by Comcast, in a deal that should be completed in 2024. Disney already owns two-thirds of Hulu, which has around 48 million subscribers. Plus, in an ongoing TV consolidation trend, Disney+ and Hulu have already become one app for bundle subscribers, bringing a beta version of a Hulu hub to Disney+. Ahead of a full integration coming in March, ad sales chief Rita Ferro told Adweek the results are already better than expected. These Topics Will Dominate the TV Landscape in 2024, According to 19 Industry Execs MAXimum rebranding In one of the biggest rebrands of the year, Warner Bros. Discovery combined content from HBO Max and Discovery+ to form Max, a new streamer with a much-talked-about blue logo. In 2022, CEO David Zaslav opted not to break out separate subscriber numbers between HBO Max and Discovery+, but the two services ended the year with 94.9 million global subscribers. WBD has since posted a modest gain, ending 2023 with 95.1 million overall direct-to-consumer subscribers. Even with Max still being a new product, another major streaming rebrand could be on the way. Reports are now swirling that Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount are in talks for a possible merger, and onlookers are once again left with more questions than answers regarding the future of David Zaslav’s company. It’s showtime for Paramount+ In addition to Max, Paramount+ also went through consolidation in 2023. Last year, Paramount officially sunsetted the Showtime app, rolling out Paramount+ With Showtime (and hiking prices) in June. The combined streamer now has around 63 million subscribers, a significant jump from the 46 million it ended 2022 with. The company also brought its streaming plan to linear, transforming its Showtime linear channel into Paramount+ With Showtime. Though the company said the linear rebrand is a “first-of-its-kind” multiplatform brand to integrate both streaming and linear content, experts told Adweek it's just another example of the ongoing TV trend of consolidation. It could also be confusing for consumers, as the linear channel won’t have all the streaming programming despite having the same name. Peacock is flying Ahead of this summer’s Olympics in Paris, NBCUniversal’s Peacock is narrowing its losses and significantly growing its streaming base. Parent company Comcast said Peacock reached 28 million subscribers at the end of Q3. And in December 2023, Comcast CEO Mike Cavanaugh revealed to investors that the streaming service climbed even higher to 30 million paid subscribers—doubling the 15 million it ended 2022 with. The transparency is a significant shift for NBCUniversal, which, until the end of last year, only reported total sign-ups versus paid subscribers. The 10 Most Watchable TV Shows of 2023 Subscriber numbers? Who knows! Despite Peacock sharing numbers and Netflix even revealing its viewership hours, that transparency hasn't rubbed off on other streamers. For instance, Apple TV+ and Prime Video are still keeping their subscriber totals to themselves. Though Prime Video hasn't revealed its exact numbers, the Amazon Prime service has more than 200 million paying customers. Prime Video is also the exclusive home of Thursday Night Football and broadcasted the first NFL Black Friday game in 2023. It’s also home to hits like The Boys, Gen V and I’m a Virgo, and its AVOD counterpart Freevee enjoyed breakout hits such as Jury Duty in 2023. Amazon also added a slate of Prime Video original series to the free streamer. But this is the last year Prime Video remains without ad breaks, introducing limited advertisements starting Jan. 29. Though it currently costs $14.99 per month (and is also included in the $139 yearly Prime subscription), an ad-free tier will be available for an additional $2.99 per month. That makes Apple TV+ the only major streaming service left without commercial breaks. While home to a host of original content like Ted Lasso, For All Mankind and Slow Horses, Apple made its mark in the sports streaming world in 2023 with the launch of MLS Streaming Pass after landing a 10-year streaming rights deal that made the company the exclusive home of Major League Soccer. However, soccer aside, time will tell if the service ever reveals its subscriber goals—or just how long it remains an ad-tier holdout.

Year in Review

How the Biggest Streaming Services Stack Up Heading Into 2024

Rebrands, consolidation and AVOD set the tone

Netflix’s big numbers

Mollie Cahillane

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Mollie Cahillane