Netflix reported $12.25 billion in Q1 2026 revenue, 16% higher than the $10.54 billion it reported in the year-ago quarter, setting a new financial bar that Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video have to chase from very different starting points. Each of the three streaming giants now publishes a different headline metric: Netflix counts paid memberships, Amazon counts monthly viewers on the ad tier, and Disney has stopped reporting subscriber counts altogether. The figures below cover paid memberships, ad-tier monthly active users, revenue, pricing, churn, content spend, regional mix and US TV viewing share.
The disclosure gap forces analysts to compare three different denominators, and our platform statistics coverage suggests engagement depth now matters more than headline subscriber growth.
Key Takeaways
- Netflix paid memberships exceeded 325 million globally, the largest paid base of any of the three platforms in Q1 2026.
- Disney reported 132 million Disney+ subscribers at the close of fiscal Q4 2025 before retiring quarterly subscriber disclosure for Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ from Q1 FY2026 onward.
- Amazon Prime Video’s ad-supported tier reached 315 million monthly viewers globally, measured on internal data through August 2025.
- Netflix’s ad plan represented over 60% of all Q1 sign-ups within its ad countries, confirming ad-tier dominance of new growth.
- Antenna’s premium SVOD category posted a Weighted Average Churn Rate for the category hit a steady 4.6% in 2025, with total Subscribers grew +7% in 2025, down from 12% in 2024.
- Amazon outspent Netflix on content for the second straight year, with $22.4 billion on video and music content in 2025, up 10% from $20.4 billion spent in 2024.
Editor’s Choice
- Netflix Q1 2026 operating income reached $3,957 million, up 18% year over year, with an operating margin of 32.3%.
- Disney+ and Hulu combined Q1 FY2026 streaming revenue hit $5.35 billion, up 11%, and operating income zoomed 72% to $450 million.
- Netflix US pricing climbed to $8.99/month for Standard with Ads, $19.99 for Standard, and $26.99 for Premium after the March 2026 hike.
- Netflix’s ad-supported tier reached more than 190 million monthly active viewers globally as of November 2025.
- Disney+ has 59.3 million customers in the United States and Canada, and 72.4 million internationally.
- Streaming captured 41.9% of US TV viewing in February 2026, with cable at 20.0% and broadcast at 21.7%.
Recent Developments
- April 2026 earnings results: Q1 revenue grew 16% versus the prior year quarter, while operating income rose 18%, and the platform reaffirmed full-year revenue guidance of Netflix expects full-year 2026 revenue of $50.7 billion to $51.7 billion.
- March 2026 pricing change: Netflix recently raised its Standard With Ads plan to $8.99/month, up $1 from $7.99 previously, and the Premium plan to $26.99/month, up $2 from $24.99.
- February 2026 disclosure shift, per Variety reporting: Disney no longer discloses Disney+ and Hulu subscriber or revenue figures starting with the Q1 2026 earnings report, following the August 2025 announcement that those metrics had become less meaningful.
- February 2026 retention data from Antenna: Premium SVODs drove 31% of annual Gross Adds and 57% of Net Adds in Q4 in 2025.
- January 2026 viewing milestone, according to Nielsen: streaming hit 47.0% of U.S. TV viewing, the highest share ever recorded in Nielsen’s The Gauge.
- Late 2025 ad-tier reach, per The Hollywood Reporter coverage of Amazon disclosure: Amazon claims Prime Video’s ad-supported tier reached 315 million monthly viewers globally, based on internal data through August 2025, up from 200 million monthly viewers announced in April 2024.
Subscriber and Member Counts
The headline subscriber question now has three different answers. Netflix discloses paid memberships globally, Amazon discloses ad-tier monthly viewers, and Disney retired its subscriber disclosure entirely after fiscal Q4 of 2025.
- Netflix paid memberships exceeded 325 million globally as of Q1 2026, the lead figure in our Netflix subscriber data tracking.
- Disney+ stood at 132 million Disney+ subscribers, an increase of 3.8 million vs. Q3 fiscal 2025 in its final disclosed quarter.
- Disney+ and Hulu combined to 196 million Disney+ and Hulu subscriptions, an increase of 12.4 million vs. Q3 fiscal 2025.
- Amazon Prime membership is widely estimated to be between 220 million and 250 million paying members globally as of early 2026, although Amazon does not publish a precise quarterly figure.
- Prime Video’s ad-tier reach is 315 million monthly viewers globally, a viewer-count metric, not a paying-subscriber count, and the same lens our Amazon Prime Video statistics tracker now uses.
- Netflix’s ad tier alone reached more than 190 million monthly active viewers globally as of November 2025.
| Platform | Headline Reported Metric | Q1 2026 Value | Last Refresh |
| Netflix | Paid memberships, global | 325 million | Q1 2026 (Apr 2026) |
| Disney+ | Paid subscribers, global (last reported) | 132 million | Q4 FY2025 (Sept 2025) |
| Disney+ and Hulu combined | Paid subscriptions, global (last reported) | 196 million | Q4 FY2025 (Sept 2025) |
| Amazon Prime Video | Ad-tier monthly viewers, global | 315 million | Through August 2025 |
| Netflix ad tier | Ad-tier monthly active viewers, global | 190 million | November 2025 |
Source: Netflix Q1 2026 Shareholder Letter, Walt Disney Company FY2025 earnings, Amazon / Hollywood Reporter
By the numbers: Netflix Q1 2026 disclosed paid memberships exceeded 325 million globally, while Disney’s last reported figure was 132 million Disney+ subscribers at end of Q4 FY2025. The two companies are no longer reporting on the same cadence or even the same metric, which makes any “who has more subscribers” comparison structurally noisy across the streaming category.
Streaming Revenue and Operating Margin
Revenue is where the three platforms diverge most starkly. Netflix is a pure streaming company; Disney’s DTC numbers blend Disney+, Hulu and ESPN; Amazon does not report Prime Video as a standalone segment.
- Netflix Q1 2026 pushed revenue to $12.25 billion, a 16% increase compared to the same period last year.
- Netflix Q1 Operating income came in at $3,957 million, up 18% year over year, with an operating margin of 32.3%.
- Disney’s Q1 FY2026 Total revenue for Disney+ and Hulu was $5.35 billion, up 11%, and operating income zoomed 72% to $450 million.
- Disney expects entertainment streaming to see an operating margin of 10% for the full-year fiscal 2026.
- Disney’s full fiscal year 2025 group revenue was $94.4 billion from $91.4 billion in the prior year, 3% higher year over year.
- Netflix reaffirmed Netflix expects full-year 2026 revenue of $50.7 billion to $51.7 billion.
| Platform | Streaming Revenue (latest quarter) | Operating Income | Operating Margin |
| Netflix | $12.25 billion (Q1 2026) | $3.957 billion | 32.3% |
| Disney+ and Hulu | $5.35 billion (Q1 FY2026) | $450 million | ~8.4% (segment) |
| Amazon Prime Video | Not separately disclosed | Not separately disclosed | Not separately disclosed |
Source: Netflix Investor Relations, The Walt Disney Company press release
Netflix’s operating margin runs more than triple Disney’s streaming guidance for the same year, and Amazon does not break out Prime Video as a standalone segment.
Average Revenue Per User and Pricing Tiers
ARPU disclosure has thinned across the category, and direct ARPU comparison is no longer possible without analyst-side modelling.
- Netflix US Standard with Ads costs $8.99/month after the March 2026 hike.
- Netflix US Standard (no ads) is $19.99 per month, with the Premium plan at $26.99/month, up $2 from $24.99.
- The March 2026 increase represents an 11% increase on average across the product suite.
- Disney announced in August 2025 that it would no longer disclose quarterly subscriber counts and ARPU figures for Disney+, Hulu, or ESPN+.
- Disney explained the change by saying those metrics have become less meaningful to evaluating the performance of our businesses.
- Amazon Prime Video’s stand-alone subscription costs $8.99 per month in the US, with the ad-free upgrade adding an extra $2.99 per month.
Ad-Supported Tier Adoption and Growth
Ad tiers have moved from side experiment to primary growth engine for every major platform, displacing the premium tier as the new-subscriber default.
- Netflix’s ad plan represented over 60% of all Q1 sign-ups within its ad countries.
- Netflix’s ad-supported tier reached more than 190 million monthly active viewers globally as of November 2025.
- In the US specifically, 45% of Netflix households in the United States now watch on the ad-supported tier, up from 34% in the United States in 2024.
- Netflix’s advertising business is on course to reach approximately $3 billion in annual revenue, doubling year over year.
- Netflix now work with over 4,000 advertisers, up 70% year over year.
- Amazon Prime Video’s ad tier covers 315 million monthly viewers globally across 16 countries.
- The US ad-tier audience for Prime Video stands at over 130 million U.S. customers, up from 115 million recorded in 2024.
- Disney has reported that approximately two-thirds of new Disney+ subscribers chose the ad-supported tier in 2025.
| Platform | Ad Tier MAU (Global) | Ad Tier US Reach | Ad Tier Share of Sign-ups |
| Netflix | 190 million (Nov 2025) | 45% of US households | over 60% in ad countries (Q1 2026) |
| Amazon Prime Video | 315 million (Aug 2025) | over 130 million US customers | Default-on for all Prime members |
| Disney+ | Not disclosed publicly | Not disclosed publicly | approximately two-thirds of new subs (2025) |
Source: Netflix Q1 2026 Shareholder Letter, Hollywood Reporter, Apprupt
Key finding: Antenna’s Q1 2026 report shows Premium SVODs drove 31% of annual Gross Adds and 57% of Net Adds in Q4 in 2025, and the bulk of those adds across Netflix, Disney+ and Prime Video came in through ad-supported plans rather than ad-free premium tiers, which makes the ad tier the hot growth surface.
Ad-tier dominance reshapes pricing strategy across all three platforms. Netflix uses ad-tier penetration to justify hiking the premium tier, Amazon uses default-on ads to monetize the entire Prime base, and Disney pushes new subscribers toward the ad tier through bundle pricing.
Content Spend and Library Investment
Netflix is no longer the biggest content spender, and the comparison is not strictly like-for-like because Amazon’s figure bundles music content and Disney’s bundles theatrical releases.
- Amazon spent $22.4 billion on video and music content in 2025, up 10% from $20.4 billion spent in 2024.
- Amazon’s 2025 spend was almost 25% more than Netflix’s $18 billion.
- The streaming category as a whole is projected to push content spending to grow 6% to $95 billion in 2025, from $89.6 billion in 2024, a level we cover in depth via our streaming market statistics hub.
- Disney’s 2025 cash content budget is guided to roughly $23 billion, the highest absolute commitment in the category, although that figure spans theatrical, linear and DTC.
- Netflix’s $18 billion in 2025 yields the highest content spend per paying subscriber across the three platforms once paid memberships of 325 million are taken into account.
- Library size estimates vary by methodology, but Prime Video tends to be the largest US catalogue by raw title count, Netflix the most aggressive on new originals each quarter, and Disney+ the smallest catalogue with the deepest IP per title.
Churn Rates and Subscriber Retention
Premium SVOD churn stabilized after climbing for two years, and Antenna’s data covers Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, Max, Paramount+, Peacock, Apple TV+ and Prime Video collectively.
- Antenna posted a Weighted Average Churn Rate for the category, which hit a steady 4.6% for 2025.
- Across the category, total Subscribers grew +7% in 2025, down from 12% in 2024.
- Growth of Gross Additions also slowed to +7% in 2025, a YoY decrease of -4pts compared to FY2024.
- Antenna also notes that 7 of 9 services showed more stable churn patterns in 2025 versus 2023, a stabilization that mirrors the engagement-over-growth pattern documented in our Apple Music subscriber data coverage.
- Netflix has historically posted the lowest churn in the category, generally below the 4.6% category average, supported by the deepest content library and bundled long-term commitments.
- Disney’s bundled product is the retention story: subscribers on the Disney+ / Hulu / ESPN bundle churn at materially lower rates than any single Disney+ standalone tier.
| Platform Tier | Approximate 2025 Monthly Churn (Antenna estimate) | Retention Driver |
| Netflix (all plans) | Below 4.6% category average | Library breadth, password-sharing crackdown |
| Disney+ standalone | At or above 4.6% category average | Single-IP tentpole release cadence |
| Disney bundle (Disney+ / Hulu / ESPN+) | Materially below standalone | Multi-app utility |
| Amazon Prime Video | Bundled with Prime; standalone churn low | Prime shipping retention halo |
Source: Antenna Q1’26 State of Subscriptions Report
Worth noting: SQ Magazine’s editorial view across our streaming statistics pages: bundled retention now beats best-in-class single-app retention. The 4.6% category churn average masks a wide spread between bundled subscribers (well under 3% in many quarters) and standalone ad-tier subscribers (often above 6%). The headline rate hides where the actual loyalty lives.
Geographic Distribution and Regional Mix
Netflix’s regional disclosure is the most granular of the three. Disney provides a US vs. international split for Disney+ in its last full disclosure. Amazon does not publish Prime Video membership by region.
- Netflix Q1 2026 regional revenue split: UCAN $5,245,298 (14% growth), EMEA $3,998,419 (17% growth), LATAM $1,497,058 (19% growth), APAC $1,508,982 (20% growth).
- LATAM and APAC posted the fastest revenue growth, both above 19%, while UCAN remains the largest revenue segment.
- Disney+ at the close of Q4 FY2025 had 59.3 million customers in the United States and Canada, and 72.4 million internationally.
- That gives Disney+ a roughly 45/55 US-Canada to international mix, the inverse of Netflix’s revenue mix, where North America still drives the largest dollar share.
- Amazon Prime Video’s ad-tier coverage spans 16 countries, with the US share at over 130 million U.S. customers of the 315 million monthly viewers globally.
US TV Viewing Share, Nielsen Gauge
Nielsen’s The Gauge measures total US TV usage by source across streaming, broadcast and cable, and shows streaming holding the lead it took over combined linear TV through early 2026.
- In December 2025, streaming shattered multiple records in December 2025 with 47.5% of TV viewing per Nielsen’s The Gauge.
- January 2026 followed with a streaming hit47.0% of U.S. TV viewing, the highest share ever recorded in Nielsen’s The Gauge.
- February 2026 showed streaming at 41.9%, broadcast at 21.7%, and cable at 20.0% as the Super Bowl pulled audiences toward broadcast.
- Cable’s 20.0% February share is the lowest that category has held in Nielsen’s published Gauge data.
- At the platform level for February 2026, Netflix held 8.5% of total US TV usage. Amazon Prime Video held 3.6%. Disney+ held 1.9% as a standalone share.
- NBCUniversal-Versant captured 13.1% of total TV usage in February 2026, dethroning YouTube’s 12.7% on the strength of Super Bowl and Olympic broadcast windows, a viewing-window pattern echoed in our music streaming statistics coverage.
Bundle and Account-Sharing Strategy
Each platform pulls a different lever to tighten monetization: Netflix ended unauthorized account sharing, Disney leaned into bundling, and Amazon uses retail Prime as lock-in.
- Netflix’s Q1 2026 advertiser base hit over 4,000 advertisers, up 70% year over year, reflecting a year of post-paid-sharing scaling.
- Netflix’s ad plan, priced at $8.99 in the US, remains very popular and is the on-ramp from previously shared accounts.
- Disney’s Q1 FY2026 streaming operating income jumped on bundling, and the operating income zoomed 72% to $450 million line shows what tighter monetization looks like at scale.
- Disney expects entertainment streaming to see an operating margin of 10% for full-year fiscal 2026, the first full year above break-even at this scale.
- Amazon’s lock-in is not a bundle in the streaming sense; it is the Prime shipping benefit that subsidizes Prime Video viewership.
The takeaway: Netflix used a paid-sharing crackdown and an ad-tier launch to add roughly more than 190 million monthly active viewers globally as of November 2025 on the ad tier and over 4,000 advertisers, up 70% year over year within roughly two years; Disney went the bundle route, where the combined Disney+ with Hulu and ESPN bundle now drives the lowest per-app churn in the company’s portfolio; Amazon kept Prime Video bolted to retail, where ad inventory turns on by default.
Three-Way Head-to-Head Snapshot Table
The table below consolidates the load-bearing comparable figures across the three platforms, with the caveat that 3 of the 11 rows are not strictly like-for-like.
| Metric | Netflix | Disney+ | Amazon Prime Video |
| Headline metric (latest) | 325 million paid memberships | 132 million paid subs (last reported) | 315 million ad-tier monthly viewers |
| Latest revenue period | $12.25 billion (Q1 2026, streaming-only) | $5.35 billion (Q1 FY2026, Disney+ and Hulu combined) | Not separately disclosed |
| Operating income (latest) | $3.957 billion | $450 million | Not separately disclosed |
| Operating margin guidance | 32.3% (Q1 actual) | 10% (FY2026 guidance) | Not separately disclosed |
| 2025 content spend | $18 billion | ~$23 billion (group) | $22.4 billion (video + music) |
| US ad-tier price | $8.99 / month | $9.99 / month | Default with $14.99 / month Prime |
| US Standard / no-ads price | $19.99 / month | $15.99 / month | +$2.99 / month upgrade |
| Ad-tier MAU (global) | 190 million | Not disclosed | 315 million |
| US share of TV usage (Feb 2026) | 8.5% | 1.9% | 3.6% |
| Region disclosure | UCAN / EMEA / LATAM / APAC quarterly | US-Canada vs international (frozen at FY2025) | None separately disclosed |
Source: Netflix Investor Relations, The Walt Disney Company, Amazon, Nielsen, Antenna
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Netflix has the most directly disclosed paid subscriber base. Paid memberships exceeded 325 million globally as of Q1 2026, per the Netflix shareholder letter. Disney+ last disclosed 132 million Disney+ subscribers at Q4 FY2025 and has since stopped reporting subscriber counts. Amazon Prime Video reports a different metric, ad-tier monthly viewers, which reached 315 million monthly viewers globally through August 2025.
On August 6, 2025, Disney announced it would no longer disclose quarterly subscriber counts and ARPU figures for Disney+, Hulu, or ESPN+ from Q1 FY2026 onward. The company said those metrics have become less meaningful to evaluating the performance of our businesses, with revenue and operating income now serving as the primary disclosed indicators for the streaming segment.
Amazon led the category with $22.4 billion on video and music content in 2025, up 10% from $20.4 billion spent in 2024 and almost 25% more than Netflix’s $18 billion. Disney’s cash content budget was guided to approximately $23 billion for the same year, although that figure spans theatrical, linear and direct-to-consumer combined, which makes it less directly comparable to pure-streaming spend.
Netflix recently raised its Standard With Ads plan to $8.99/month, up $1 from $7.99 previously, and the Premium plan to $26.99/month, up $2 from $24.99, with Standard without ads at $19.99 per month. The hike represents an 11% increase on average across the product suite and is the second US price rise in under two years.
Antenna’s premium SVOD category posted a Weighted Average Churn Rate for the category hit a steady 4.6% in 2025. Netflix has historically held below the category average, supported by deep library breadth. Disney’s bundled product, Disney+ with Hulu and ESPN+, shows materially lower churn than any single Disney+ standalone tier, while standalone ad-tier subscribers across the category tend to churn above the average.
Netflix’s ad-supported tier reached more than 190 million monthly active viewers globally as of November 2025, with 45% of Netflix households in the United States now watching on the ad-supported tier, up from 34% in 2024. Amazon Prime Video’s ad-supported tier reached 315 million monthly viewers globally, including over 130 million U.S. customers, up from 115 million recorded in 2024. Both platforms’ ad-tier data feed into our programmatic advertising statistics tracker.
Conclusion
The three-way streaming comparison has structurally shifted in recent years. Netflix retains the cleanest quarterly disclosure with paid memberships exceeding 325 million globally and $12.25 billion in Q1 2026 revenue, the same headline figure that opened this comparison. Disney has stepped back from quarterly subscriber transparency, leaving the 132 million Disney+ subscribers figure frozen at Q4 FY2025 while it pivots to revenue and operating-margin disclosure. Amazon has never reported Prime Video as a standalone segment, and now leads on a different metric entirely, the 315 million monthly viewers globally; its ad tier reaches across 16 countries.
The ad tier is where the three platforms now compete most directly. Netflix’s ad plan represented over 60% of all Q1 sign-ups within its ad countries, Amazon’s default-on model puts ads in front of effectively the entire Prime base, and approximately two-thirds of new Disney+ subscribers chose the ad-supported tier in 2025. Across our platform statistics coverage, this is the clearest pattern we have tracked: the year ahead in the streaming wars will be fought on ad-tier monetization and bundled retention, not raw paid-subscriber bragging rights.