Netflix Extends Its Lead While Apple TV+ Emerges as Streaming’s Fastest-Growing Platform

The U.S. streaming landscape continued to evolve during the second quarter of 2026, with familiar leaders holding their positions while one service made the biggest move of the year. According to the latest JustWatch Streaming Charts, Netflix strengthened its lead, Apple TV+ posted the strongest year-over-year growth, and Hulu moved ahead of HBO Max in the market rankings. The findings are based on more than 45 million streaming interactions across the United States, providing a snapshot of changing viewer interest and engagement.

Q2 2026 U.S. Streaming Market Share

The latest market share rankings show Netflix maintaining its position as the dominant streaming platform with a 20% share of user interest, followed by Amazon Prime Video at 17%. Disney+ remains firmly in third place, while Apple TV+ has climbed into fourth after another strong quarter.

Figure 1. Q2 2026 U.S. streaming market share. Netflix leads with 20% of user interest, followed by Prime Video (17%), Disney+ (15%), and Apple TV+ (13%). Source: JustWatch.

Netflix Continues to Pull Away

Netflix gained one percentage point during the quarter to reach a 20% market share, increasing its advantage over Amazon Prime Video to three percentage points. While Netflix’s annual share remained stable compared to the same period last year, it continues to demonstrate remarkable consistency in a highly competitive market.

Prime Video held steady during the quarter but experienced a four-point decline compared to Q2 2025, suggesting increased competition despite retaining its second-place position.

Apple TV+ Is the Quarter’s Biggest Success Story

The most notable development in the report is Apple TV+’s continued momentum. The platform gained one percentage point during Q2, increasing its market share to 13% while posting an impressive five-point increase over the past year—the strongest annual growth of any streaming service measured.

This performance allowed Apple TV+ to move ahead of both Hulu and HBO Max, becoming the fourth-largest subscription streaming platform in the United States.

Hulu Moves Ahead as HBO Max Slips

Hulu maintained its 11% market share throughout the quarter, but that stability proved enough to move into fifth place after HBO Max experienced the largest quarterly decline among major services.

HBO Max dropped two percentage points during Q2, ending the quarter at 10%. The service also declined by two percentage points compared with the same quarter last year.

How Market Share Changed During the First Half of 2026

Figure 2. Streaming market share trends from January through June 2026. Apple TV+ shows the strongest upward trajectory, while HBO Max trends downward. Netflix maintains steady growth throughout the first half of the year. Source: JustWatch.

Smaller Services Show Mixed Results

Among the smaller streaming platforms:

• Peacock Premium remained at 4% for the quarter while gaining two percentage points year over year.
• Paramount+ held steady at 3% during Q2 but declined four percentage points compared with last year.
• PBS and Starz remained stable throughout both the quarter and the past year.

What the Trends Suggest

The first half of 2026 highlights several important trends in the streaming industry:

• Netflix continues to reinforce its leadership.
• Apple TV+ is rapidly becoming one of the industry’s fastest-growing platforms.
• The middle tier of the streaming market remains highly competitive.
• Legacy services continue to face increased pressure as consumer preferences evolve.

How the Data Was Measured

The report is based on more than 45 million streaming interactions from U.S. users between April 1 and June 30, 2026. JustWatch calculates market share using engagement signals such as adding titles to watchlists, clicking through to streaming providers, filtering streaming services, and marking titles as watched. These interactions reflect viewer interest rather than subscriber counts.