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Subscription-based Media Platforms - Top Players
The top five subscription-based media platforms in the United States are Amazon Prime, Netflix, Hulu, Spotify, and Starz.
1. Amazon Prime
- Amazon Prime has 101 million paid subscribers.
- Amazon Prime offers exclusive original movies and TV Series with a starting price of $2.99 for the first 6 months.
- The service can be accessed anywhere and on three devices simultaneously.
- There is a 30-day trial period and there is a minimum monthly charge of $8.99.
2. Netflix
- Netflix has 60.2 million paid subscribers.
- Netflix offers three subscription plans — basic, standard, and premium.
- The monthly prices for the plans are $8.99, $12.99, and $15.99 for unlimited movies and TV series and the ability to cancel at any time.
- Netflix allows new users to access the content free for a month. If the user isn't satisfied, they can cancel the subscription free of charge within a month.
3. Hulu
- Hulu has 26.8 million paid subscribers.
- Hulu allows subscribers to watch movies and TV series for as low as $5.99 per month.
- There is a 30-day trial period and there is an option to purchase a plan inclusive of Live TV for $44.99 per month.
- To avoid seeing ads, customers can opt for the commercial-free plan.
4. Spotify
- Spotify has 26 million paid subscribers.
- Spotify offers users the ability to stream ad-free songs from anywhere.
- It can be accessed on devices such as a personal computer, smartphone, tablet, and television.
- Music can also be downloaded as needed and listened offline.
5. Starz
- Starz has 25.1 million paid subscribers.
- Starz currently has a promotion for new subscribers to access movies for only $5.99 per month for three months.
- With this service, customers will have access to thousands of popular movies and TV series.
- There is a 7-day trial period.
YOUR RESEARCH TEAM APPLIED THE FOLLOWING STRATEGY:
During our preliminary search, we found several lists of top or most popular subscription-based media platforms in the US. With these lists, we proceeded with our research. We were able to identify the number of paid subscribers for all media platforms and the information is provided in the spreadsheet.
We noticed that some sources were more specific in stating the paid subscribers (Hulu and Spotify) compared to others. However, during our research we realized that all the top five platforms are paid-only services with a very brief trial period (if any) after which, to be a subscriber, one has to pay which means that the numbers reported for subscribers are actually those of paid subscribers (Amazon Prime, Netflix, Starz). As stipulated in the request, the top was defined by the number of paid subscribers in the US. We were able to rank the companies from pre-compiled lists based on that criteria.
To complete this request, we explored sources such as company websites, CNBC, The Motley Fool, Fortune, Pitchfork, and the official website of the media platforms.