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Which Streaming Service Has the Most Subscriptions?

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Streaming Service Subscriptions 2020

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Which Streaming Service Has The Most Subscriptions?

Many companies have launched a streaming service over the past few years, trying to capitalize on the digital media shift and launching the so-called “streaming wars.”

After Netflix grew from a small DVD-rental company to a household name, every media company from Disney to Apple saw recurring revenues ripe for the taking. Likewise, the audio industry has long-since accepted Spotify’s rise to prominence, as streaming has become the de facto method of consumption for many.

But it was actually the unexpected COVID-19 pandemic that solidified the foothold of digital streaming, with subscription services seeing massive growth over the last year. Although it was expected that many new services would flounder along the way, media subscription services saw wide scale growth and adoption almost across the board.

We’ve taken the video, audio, and news subscription services with 5+ million subscribers to see who came out on top—and who has grown the most quickly—over the past year. Data comes from the FIPP media association as well as individual company reports.

Streaming Service Giants: Netflix and Amazon

The top of the streaming giant pantheon highlights two staples of business: the first-mover advantage and the power of conglomeration.

With 200+ million global subscribers, Netflix has capitalized on its position as the first and primary name in digital video streaming. Though its consumer base in the Americas has begun to plateau, the company’s growth in reach (190+ countries) and content (70+ original movies slated for 2021) has put it more than 50 million subscribers ahead of its closest competition.

The story is the same in the audio market, where Spotify’s 144 million subscriber base is more than double that of Apple Music, the next closest competitor with 68 million subscribers.

Meanwhile, Amazon’s position as the second most popular video streaming service with 150 million subscribers might be surprising. However, Prime Video subscriptions are included with membership to Amazon Prime, which saw massive growth in usage during the pandemic.

ServiceTypeSubscribers (Q4 2020)
NetflixVideo203.7M
Amazon Prime VideoVideo150.0M
SpotifyAudio144.0M
Tencent VideoVideo120.0M
iQIYIVideo119.0M
Disney+Video94.9M
YoukuVideo90.0M
Apple MusicAudio68.0M
Amazon Prime MusicAudio55.0M
Tencent Music (Group)Audio51.7M
ViuVideo41.4M
Alt BalajiVideo40M
HuluVideo38.8M
Eros NowVideo36.2M
Sirius XmAudio34.4M
YouTube PremiumVideo/Audio30M
Disney+ HotstarVideo18.5M
Paramount+Video17.9M
HBO MaxVideo17.2M
Starz/StarzPlay/PantayaVideo13.7M
ESPN+Video11.5M
Apple TV+Video10M
DAZNVideo8M
DeezerAudio7M
PandoraAudio6.3M
New York TimesNews6.1M

Another standout is the number of large streaming services based in Asia. China-based Tencent Video (also known as WeTV) and Baidu’s iQIYI streaming services both crossed 100 million paid subscribers, with Alibaba’s Youku not far behind with 90 million.

Disney Leads in Streaming Growth

But perhaps most notable of all is Disney’s rapid ascension to the upper echelons of streaming service giants.

Despite Disney+ launching in late 2019 with a somewhat lackluster content library (only one original series with one episode at launch), it has quickly rocketed both in terms of content and its subscriber base. With almost 95 million subscribers, it has amassed more subscribers in just over one year than Disney expected it could reach by 2024.

ServiceTypePercentage Growth (2019)
Disney+VideoNew
Apple TV+VideoNew
Disney+ HotstarVideo516.7%
ESPN+Video475.0%
Starz/StarzPlay/PantayaVideo211.4%
Paramount+Video123.8%
HBO MaxVideo115.0%
Amazon Prime VideoVideo100.0%
Alt BalajiVideo100.0%
YouTube PremiumVideo/Audio100.0%
DAZNVideo100.0%
Eros NowVideo92.6%
Amazon Prime MusicAudio71.9%
Tencent Music (Group)Audio66.8%
New York TimesNews60.5%
SpotifyAudio44.0%
HuluVideo38.6%
ViuVideo38.0%
NetflixVideo34.4%
Tencent VideoVideo27.7%
iQiyiVideo19.0%
Sirius XmAudio17.4%
Apple MusicAudio13.3%
YoukuVideo9.6%
PandoraAudio1.6%
DeezerAudio0%

The Disney+ wave also spurred growth in partner streaming services like Hotstar and ESPN+, while other services with smaller subscriber bases saw large growth rates thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The lingering question is how the landscape will look when the pandemic starts to wind down, and when all the new players are accounted for. NBCUniversal’s Peacock, for example, has reached over 30 million subscribers as of January 2021, but the company hasn’t yet disclosed how many are paid subscribers.

Likewise, competitors are investing in content libraries to try and make up ground on Netflix and Disney. HBO Max is slated to start launching internationally in June 2021, and ViacomCBS rebranded and expanded CBS All Access into Paramount+.

And international growth is vital. Three of the top six video streaming services by subscribers are based in China, while Indian services Hotstar, ALTBalaji, and Eros Now all saw surges in subscriber bases, with more room left to grow.

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Ranked: Fast Food Brands with the Most U.S. Locations

An overview of America’s fast food landscape, as of 2022, visualizing the top fast food brands with the most stores in the country.

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A cropped bar chart visualizing the top fast food brands with the most stores in the country.

Ranked: Fast Food Brands with the Most U.S. Locations

The fast food industry has become a behemoth in the U.S. from humble beginnings in Wichita a century ago, when the first White Castle store opened. Now, nearly 200,000 U.S. fast food brands make up an industry worth more than $300 billion.

We provide an overview of America’s fast food landscape, visualizing the top 15 companies with the most stores in the country. In this graphic, we use data from QSR Magazine, an industry magazine that focuses on the quick-service segment of the restaurant industry.

Which Fast Food Brands Have the Most Stores?

Ranked first, Subway is the only fast food brand with over 20,000 locations, even after a net reduction of 576 stores in 2022.

The previously family-run business is now owned by Roark Capital (which has substantial stake in other familiar names on this list including Arby’s and Sonic), and is mid-transformation, with 3,600 stores being remodeled in 2023.

Here’s the full breakdown of the top 50 fast food brands by number of U.S. locations in 2022.

RankCompanyLocationsChange in Locations (YoY)
1Subway*20,576-571
2Starbucks*15,873+429
3McDonald's13,444+6
4Dunkin'9,370+126
5Taco Bell7,198+196
6Burger King7,043-61
7Domino's6,686+126
8Pizza Hut6,561+13
9Wendy's5,994+56
10Dairy Queen4,307-32
11Little Caesars*4,173-14
12KFC3,918-35
13Sonic Drive-In3,546-6
14Arby's3,415+6
15Papa Johns3,376+37
16Chipotle3,129+211
17Popeyes
Louisiana Kitchen
2,946+169
18Chick-fil-A*2,837+153
19Jimmy John's2,637-26
20Jersey Mike's2,397+297
21Panda Express2,393+87
22Baskin-Robbins2,253-54
23Jack In The Box2,180-38
24Panera Bread*2,102-33
25Wingstop1,721+187
26Hardee's1,707+45
27Five Guys1,409+19
28Tropical
Smoothie Café
1,198+159
29Firehouse Subs1,187+23
30Papa Murphy's1,168-72
31Carl's Jr.1,068+1
32Marco's Pizza1,067+65
33Whataburger925+52
34Zaxby's922+11
35Culver's892+56
36Church's Chicken812-91
37Checkers/Rally's806+28
38Bojangles788+15
39Qdoba728-11
40Crumbl Cookies688+363
41Dutch Bros671+133
42Raising Cane's646+79
43Moe's637-21
44Del Taco591-9
45McAlister's Deli525+20
46El Pollo Loco490+10
47Freddy's Frozen
Custard &
Steakburgers
456+36
48In-N-Out Burger*379+12
49Krispy Kreme*352+44
50Shake Shack*287+44

*Figures estimated by QSR and Circana.

At second place, Starbucks has nearly 16,000 locations around the country, with California alone accounting for nearly 3,000 of them. The coffee chain is also going through a major shift as a result of post-pandemic trends. This includes a greater focus on drive-thru locations and overall speed and efficiency.

Ranked third, McDonald’s, grew its U.S. footprint for the first time in eight years, after adding six new locations. The brand has grown its global sales by nearly $20 billion since the beginning of the pandemic, even after exiting Russia in 2022.

Dunkin’ (dropped the “Donuts” in 2019) and Taco Bell round out the top-five with more than 9,000 and 7,000 locations respectively.

Notably there was only one ranking shift in the top 20 since last year, with Jersey Mike’s, a sandwich chain, moving past Panda Express to claim 20th place.

However the same list looks a little different when ordering by revenue earned in 2022.

Ranked: Fast Food Brands by 2022 Revenue

The Golden Arches take the golden crown for most revenue earned in 2022, easily beating out the competition. McDonald’s made nearly $48 billion in sales last year, 74% more than the next big brand.

Here’s the full ranking of most revenue earned by fast food brands in 2022.

Revenue RankCompanyRevenue (USD millions)Change from
Locations Rank
1McDonald's$48,734+2
2Starbucks*$28,1000
3Chick-fil-A*$18,814+15
4Taco Bell$13,850+1
5Wendy's$11,694+4
6Dunkin'$11,279-2
7Subway*$10,372-6
8Burger King$10,278-2
9Domino's$8,752-2
10Chipotle$8,600+6
11Panera Bread*$6,787+13
12Pizza Hut$5,500-4
13Sonic Drive-In$5,4990
14Panda Express$5,149+7
15KFC$5,100-3
16Popeyes
Louisiana Kitchen
$5,001+1
17Dairy Queen$4,5790
18Arby's$4,535-4
19Jack in the Box$4,111+4
20Papa John's$3,698-5
21Little Caesars*$3,520-10
22Whataburger$3,340+11
23Raising Cane's$3,118+19
24Culver's$2,830+11
25Jersey Mike's$2,680-5
26Wingstop$2,382-1
27Zaxby's$2,380+7
28Jimmy John's$2,364-9
29Five Guys$2,204-2
30Hardee's$2,020-4
31Bojangles$1,600+7
32Carl's Jr.$1,555-1
33Dutch Bros$1,163+8
34Firehouse Subs$1,154-5
35In-N-Out Burger*$1,125+13
36Tropical
Smoothie Café
$1,075-8
37El Pollo Loco$1,039+9
38Crumbl Cookies$1,004+2
39Qdoba$1,0020
40Shake Shack*$994+10
41Krispy Kreme*$991+8
42Marco's Pizza$968-10
43Del Taco$957+1
44McAlister's Deli$956+1
45Checkers/Rally's$858-8
46Freddy's Frozen
Custard &
Steakburgers
$808+1
47Church's Chicken$765-11
48Papa Murphy's$753-18
49Moe's$705-6
50Baskin-Robbins$685-28

*Figures estimated by QSR and Circana.

Starbucks holds on to the second spot, but Chick-fil-A shoots up 18 positions to third place by revenue, despite being closed on Sundays.

Raising Cane’s, which specializes in chicken fingers and Panera Bread, a bakery competitor to Starbucks, see similar upward trajectories, climbing 19 and 13 spots respectively on the revenue rankings.

On the other hand, Papa Murphy’s and Baskin Robbins have seen a steep drop, making between $600–700 million in 2022, putting them at the bottom of the sales rankings.

What’s Next for Fast Food?

QSR Magazine signals that automation is transforming the restaurant industry as businesses leverage robotics to ease staffing challenges that surged during the pandemic.

Some changes—increasing drive-thrus and apps for example—have already become commonplace but robot cooks and automated delivery vans may also soon proliferate.

With nearly eight out of 100 people in the American workforce involved in the food industry, these changes may cause significant shifts in employment patterns, potentially requiring upskilling for workers in this evolving landscape.

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