Who's Gaining in the Race for Top U.S. Streamer?
New rankings: 12 charts that capture 2022's final tally
With a tumultuous 2022 in the books, it’s time to make some judgment calls on how the streamers fared. Obviously, streaming got knocked around last year, but, for better or worse, all the streamers are growing, and really that’s still the metric most companies care about.
Earlier, I rated who was on top at the conclusion of the first, second and third quarters. Using the data from those surveys, we can make some declarations about who won — and lost — the Streaming Wars for the year behind us.
I surveyed as many different sources as possible to deliver a “poll of polls.” Every metric has its own flaws, but if you bundle them together, collectively they paint a picture.1
As has been the case since this all began, Netflix is winning the war for viewers — no surprise there. However, the general trend of 2022 is that the war is getting much more competitive. (In my first article for The Ankler in 2022, I made this very case!). Netflix is in the lead, and a few streamers may never catch up, but others are gaining ground.
In this edition, you’ll learn…
Which streamers gained the most viewership and subscribers in 2022.
How big Netflix’s lead is in viewership, but how that lead is declining.
The surprising streamer Parks and Associates declared number one.
And the final year-end “top streamer” by my metrics.