The U.S. Ranks Sixth in the Adoption of at Least One Streaming Service

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Netflix was the most popular global streaming service in the Finder survey of 18 countries. (Image credit: Netflix)

NEW YORK—As the major streaming services work to expand their global reach to achieve economies of scale, a new survey from Finder highlights the rapid spread of streaming services around the world, with 56% of the respondents in 18 countries having at least one streaming service. 

That is only slightly lower than the U.S., where 59% of American adults have at least one streaming service, according to the newly released "Finder’s Global Streaming Adoption Report."

Among the 18 countries, the U.S. ranked sixth. The highest ranking was New Zealand with 65% and the lowest of the 18 countries was Pakistan at 45%. Canada ranked 5th with 61% of respondents reporting they had at least one streaming service.

The survey of 28,547 adults across 18 countries also found that the most popular streaming service in the U.S. is Netflix – with 45% of Americans having an account, followed by Amazon Prime Video (33%) and Hulu (22%). 

American women are more likely than men to have at least one streaming service (64% vs. 58%). 

American women were also more likely to subscribe to Netflix (52% vs. 43%), Amazon (39% vs. 30%), and Disney+ (21% vs. 18%). 

Finder’s streaming editor, James Dampney, said streaming services have been a massive industry in the U.S. for some time now and are only growing in popularity.

“Over the last decade we’ve seen a real boom in streaming services and the COVID-19 pandemic seems to have only accelerated the trend,” Dampney said. “With people spending more time at home during the pandemic, it’s no surprise these providers are so popular.”

The full report with more detailed demographic information is available here

George Winslow

George Winslow is the senior content producer for TV Tech. He has written about the television, media and technology industries for nearly 30 years for such publications as Broadcasting & Cable, Multichannel News and TV Tech. Over the years, he has edited a number of magazines, including Multichannel News International and World Screen, and moderated panels at such major industry events as NAB and MIP TV. He has published two books and dozens of encyclopedia articles on such subjects as the media, New York City history and economics.