Apple TV+ controlled 8% of the U.S. streaming market in the first quarter of the year, according to market analysts. That’s the same share it had a year ago, showing Apple’s recent difficulties outcompeting its rivals.
One might think that three months of new episodes of the mega hit Severance would have pushed up the Apple TV+ share of the market, but it got only a small bump over the previous quarter.
Still, that doesn’t mean the number of subscribers to Apple’s video service isn’t growing. While its share of the market is fairly static, the size of the whole streaming market keeps increasing.
Apple TV+ struggles to outgrow its rivals
Severance was the biggest hit Apple TV+ has ever had, but it’s far from the only one. In 2024, its sci-fi series Silo stayed on the list of the top 10 most-watched streaming series during the entire run of season two. The comedy Shrinking also pulls in big audiences, as does Dark Matter. And these are just a few examples of many.
They’ve been enough for Apple TV+ to build a not-inconsiderable share of the U.S. streaming market. It accounted for 8% of the total during the first three months of 2025, according to new data released Thursday by JustWatch.
That’s up a percentage point from the previous quarter — possibly as a Severance effect — but it equals Apple’s market share in Q1 2024.
To be clear, there has been long-term growth. Back in 2021, Apple TV+ had only about 4% of the U.S. market, after the service launched near the end of 2019. But it’s essentially plateaued in the last year or so.
Even so, the total number of subscribers to all streaming services keeps growing. Globally, that total increased 64% between 2020 and 2023. While Apple’s share of the total hasn’t improved much, because the total itself keeps getting larger, the TV+ subscriber base also keeps increasing.
Which is likely why Apple CEO Tim Cook hasn’t objected more that Apple TV+ loses about $1 billion a year. Still, there have been cutbacks.
The rest of the US streaming market
The Apple TV+ share of the US streaming market hasn’t changed significantly in the last year, and the same is true for all its rivals. In Q1 2024, the top services were Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Max and Disney+. A year later, they remain in the same order, according to JustWatch’s data.
Prime Video accounted for 21% of the US market last quarter, down one percentage point from the same period of 2024. Netflix controlled 20% of the market, and Max was at 13%, both down a single point. At 12%, Disney+ was something of a standout by growing a percentage point.
While Apple TV+ can’t shake up the streaming market, neither can anyone else.
