The State of Streaming 2021: Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, HBO Max & More

Which streaming platforms consumers spend their time on will without a doubt remain one of the biggest areas of concern for media businesses in 2021. Just look at how Discovery and ViacomCBS are aiming to fragment the video streaming landscape even further with the launches of Discovery+ and Paramount+.

And remember the significant reorganizations Disney, NBCUniversal and WarnerMedia all executed throughout 2020 to better position Disney+, Peacock and HBO Max for success.

The fight for video streaming subscription dollars is the subject of the newest special report from Variety Intelligence Platform (VIP), “Dare to Stream,” which offers a comprehensive analysis of all the major U.S. players in the streaming wars. 

“Dare to Stream” is the fourth iteration of our U.S. SVOD landscape-focused report, which was first published in 2019. Since 2019, VIP has created a variety of special reports covering the biggest areas of growth within the media business — including free ad-supported streaming services, podcasting and blockchain technology. 

In “Dare to Stream,” the key metrics (reach, content spend, consumer satisfaction, catalog size) and notable recent developments of the major U.S.-based SVODs take center stage. The aim is to provide readers with a comprehensive and current picture of the video streaming market without getting bogged down by the details that should be well known to media business observers already. 

At the core of the report, VIP seeks to answer key questions that are surely on the minds of execs like WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar and ViacomCBS CEO Bob Bakish.

How does the threat of the newest wave of video streaming services differ from the one posed by those launched in 2020? Is there really any more room for new streamers to succeed in a market that last year saw Netflix continually reach new heights and Disney+ reach the low end of its initial subscriber goal four years early?