Don’t Believe the Hype: Streaming Dominates the Video Marketplace

Consumers Continue to Migrate From Traditional Video Packages to Streaming Much has been made of the fact that, for the first time in recent memory, the number of global Netflix subscribers declined slightly during the first three months of 2022. [...] The following chart compares the number of Netflix subscribers to the combined number of subscribers to the five largest traditional MVPDs – Comcast, Charter, DIRECTV, DISH, and Verizon Fios – over the past two years. [...] As you can see, while Netflix's subscriber total grew by 21 percent, from 183 million at the end of the first quarter of 2020 to 222 million, the combined total subscribers to the 5 largest traditional MVPDs decreased by more than 7 percent over roughly the same time horizon, from 65 million at the end of the first quarter of 2020 to 60 million at year-end 2021. [...] Conclusion In "Streaming Continues to Redefine the Video Landscape: It's Past Time to Eliminate Legacy Regulations," a June 2021 Perspectives from FSF Scholars, I argued that the competitive video programming landscape, transformed by the steady consumer transition away from traditional offerings to streaming platforms, demanded the elimination of regulations – "including, but not limited to, thos. [...] The views expressed in this Perspectives do not necessarily reflect the views of others on the staff of the Free State Foundation or those affiliated with it.