Parks Associates today released its updated list of the top 10 subscription over-the-top (OTT) video services in the U.S. market, based on number of subscribers. Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu continue to hold the top three slots while HBO Now made a significant move into the top five.

         Netflix

YouTube Red entered the top ten list during the past year, and the OTT services for premium channels Showtime and Starz moved up or entered the list compared to 2016. Sling TV has maintained its strong growth from 2016, and MLB and WWE continue to lead in sports-related subscription OTT video services, with WWE sitting just outside of the top ten.

"While the top three are no surprise, the big story over the past year has been the rapid subscriber growth for OTT video services from HBO, Showtime, and Starz. The combination of recognized brands and popular original content is driving demand for their offerings," said Brett Sappington, Senior Director of Research, Parks Associates. "Services such as Sling TV and Crunchyroll are still enjoying strong growth, but other services have simply grown at a faster rate over the past year."

Sappington notes that online pay-TV services are also growing quickly, fueled by nationwide advertising campaigns. "YouTube TV's advertising and sponsorship deal with MLB during the recent World Series is just one example of the marketing dollars behind these service offerings. While more online pay-TV services could enter the top 10 within the next year, those services that comprise the top 10 are recognized brands that are aggressively working to expand their subscriber bases. Displacing them will be a difficult task."

Parks Associates notes operators and OTT video services are working together in promotions, OTT service distribution and bundling, integration into the set-top box, zero-rating of video in data services, and billing. OTT services are partnering with each other for distribution and bundling, service promotion, improved brand awareness, and content licensing.

"Consumers have a variety of choices and are increasingly self-aggregating multiple OTT video services. As a result, partnerships within the OTT space are becoming more common, as operators, content owners, and OTT service providers all look to gain an edge in attracting subscribers and generating buzz for their offerings."

Parks Associates' OTT Video Market Tracker has research services for North America and Europe to track the content offerings, business strategies, and subscription numbers for OTT services in these regions. Additional data from these services:

One-third of U.S. broadband households subscribe to multiple OTT services.

More than 200 OTT video services are available in the U.S. today.

Over 87% of OTT video services in the U.S. offer some type of subscription option today, including freemium, ad-free premium tiers, and other blended business models.

Over 80% of services available in Western Europe offer some type of subscription option, including ad-free service tiers.