Worldwide Streaming Subscriptions Exceed One Billion For The First Time

Global streaming subscriptions have passed the one billion mark. There are now 1.1 billion subscriptions to the many streaming services available around the world.

This is the first time the total number of subscriptions have hit this figure. This follows a year of turmoil in the entertainment industry, as theaters sat closed across the world and people stayed home. The numbers come from Motion Picture Association's annual theme report, which analyzes how movies, TV, and streaming have performed over the previous 12 months.

This huge total streaming figure follows some impressive recent numbers from individual services. In January, Netflix announced that it now had more than 200 million subscribers worldwide, while earlier this month, Disney+ stated that it had hit the 100 million subscriber mark. In addition, AT&T has confirmed that the combined number of HBO Max and HBO subscribers had exceeded 61 million worldwide, while NBCUniveral's Peacock has racked up 33 million sign-ups since it launched in May last year. Of course, high subscriber numbers don't always relate to company profit, with Peacock having lost $914 million in 2020, as it spent big to secure content.

In a statement, MPA chairman Charles Rivkin said, "Despite the challenges to the global economy brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the film television, and streaming industry has once again risen to the occasion. Streaming experienced another huge boom, with new entrants into the market and more than one billion subscriptions worldwide for the first time ever."

Inevitably, the rise in streaming has occurred as theatrical grosses plummeted. Global ticket sales over the past year stand at $12 billion, down from $42.5 billion in 2019. Nevertheless, Rivkin sounded optimistic for the future, stating, "theatrical and home entertainment remain two essential parts of this dynamic and iconic industry, and I am confident that movie theaters will experience a great comeback in the months ahead."