• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechFortune 500

YouTube’s Pay Video Service Is Already Storming Past Other New Offerings

By
Aaron Pressman
Aaron Pressman
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Aaron Pressman
Aaron Pressman
Down Arrow Button Icon
August 31, 2016, 9:56 AM ET
Courtesy YouTube

Google’s YouTube Red video subscription offering is already attracting 3% of viewers in the pay TV market ahead of other new services from CBS, Dish Network, and Sony, according to a recent survey.

CBS’s (CBS) All Access attracted 1.7% of the market in the second quarter—the same share it had a year earlier—according to a survey of over 3,100 people by research firm Digitalsmiths. The survey was reported earlier by the web site Fiercecable.

Dish Network’s (DISH) Sling TV captured 1.5% of the market, up slightly from 1.2% a year earlier. Sony’s (SNE) Playstation Vue service declined to 1.4% of the market from 1.7% a year earlier.

YouTube Red, the new $10-per-month offering from Alphabet’s Google, wasn’t on the market in the second quarter of 2015. The other three services carry mostly traditional cable channel fare versus the short YouTube videos available on Red.

Still, all of the newer services trailed far behind the three giants of video streaming.

Netflix captured almost 54% of viewers, up from 49% a year earlier. In second, Amazon’s Prime streaming service had 24% of the market, up from 23% last year. Hulu, owned by some of the major Hollywood studios, was unchanged on the year with a 12% market share. Time Warner’s (TWX) HBO Now service was fourth, also with an unchanged market share of almost 6%.

Survey respondents were asked to list all video services they used. In total, 64% of viewers subscribed to at least one pay video streaming service in the second quarter, Digitalsmiths found. That was up from 58% a year ago and 51% two years ago.

The video streaming market has become intensely competitive as millennials and some older viewers increasingly turn away from traditional cable TV subscriptions, which they find too expensive or inconvenient. The cable industry has tried to fight back by giving its subscribers access to more shows on mobile devices via so-called over-the-top video apps. Meanwhile, the big three streaming players—Netflix, Amazon (AMZN), and Hulu—are spending more than ever to acquire shows and movies.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

With its continued market share growth, Netflix (NFLX) did not appear to suffer much from its price hike to $10 per month—up from $8—for its most popular level of service. The increase finally started hitting existing customers who had been grandfathered to pay the old price until this year.

YouTube hasn’t disclosed details of how many subscribers the Red service has attracted. Earlier this month, Google (GOOGL) said it was adding its Youtube app for kids to Red, which lets subscribers avoid seeing ads and download videos to their mobile devices for watching offline.

About the Author
By Aaron Pressman
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

A woman looks frustrated a computer
AIWomen
Women are avoiding the very technology that threatens them most, as expert warns of a ‘two-tiered AI economy’ approaching
By Jacqueline MunisMarch 21, 2026
2 hours ago
AIFinance
Why Block’s COO is tracking ‘gross profit per employee’—and how AI is on track to double it to $2 million
By Sheryl EstradaMarch 21, 2026
2 hours ago
home for sale
AIChatGPT
A man let ChatGPT sell his home. It beat every agent’s estimate by $100K—and closed in 5 days
By Jake AngeloMarch 21, 2026
3 hours ago
LawElon Musk
Musk misled Twitter investors before 2022 buyout, jury says
By Isaiah Poritz, Jef Feeley and BloombergMarch 20, 2026
11 hours ago
bespectacled man scratches the back of his head during congressional hearing
CryptoCryptocurrency
Kalshi locks in $22 billion valuation, gaining slight edge over its rival Polymarket
By Carlos GarciaMarch 20, 2026
14 hours ago
Big TechEntrepreneurs
Mark Cuban reads 1,000 emails a day—now he’s using a Mac Mini to fight the AI-generated flood threatening his clean inbox obsession
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezMarch 20, 2026
15 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.