Disney+ posted its strongest annual market share gain in the U.S. subscription streaming market during the first quarter of 2026, closing the gap with Netflix and Prime Video as the company expands its creator partnerships and short-form content strategy, according to a new report from streaming content search engine JustWatch.
The quarterly market shares report, drawn from more than 35 million streaming interactions on the JustWatch platform between January 1 and March 31, 2026, tracks user behavior across more than 300 subscription video on demand (SVOD) providers in the U.S. JustWatch measures user interest by recording watchlist additions, streaming service click-throughs, and title “seen” markings across its website, TV, and mobile apps.
Netflix retained the top position with a 19% market share, down 1 percentage point from the prior quarter and down 1 percentage point year over year. Prime Video held second place at 17%, but recorded a steeper decline of 4 percentage points both quarter over quarter and year over year.
Disney+ and Apple TV+ Post Largest Gains
Disney+ reached a 16% market share, gaining 2 percentage points from Q4 2025 and 4 percentage points over the past year, placing it as the third-largest platform in the market. Hulu, which shares corporate ownership with Disney+, held steady at 11% quarter over quarter while adding 1 percentage point annually. Disney’s performance this quarter drew support from the Hulu title “Paradise,” which ranked second on U.S. monthly streaming charts. Both platforms also benefited from streaming interest in Oscar nominees “The Secret Agent” and “Sentimental Value,” both of which appeared in the JustWatch top 10 in March.
The market share gains coincide with a broader platform strategy that Disney outlined during its most recent earnings call. New CEO Josh D’Amaro said the company’s recently launched vertical video feed, Verts, is “already driving deeper engagement” with Disney’s content library. Verts, which rolled out in March, launched with clips drawn from Disney’s existing movies and TV shows and is modeled on short-form, scrollable video formats.
Disney has also added creator-produced content to Disney+ and Hulu through a separate initiative called the “Creator Collection,” a catalog of horizontal content from digital creators tied to new franchise releases, including “Predator: Badlands” and the live-action “Lilo & Stitch.” D’Amaro said the company plans to expand that work with creators “in the months ahead” and will focus on ensuring Disney’s intellectual property “shows up in relevant ways across social platforms.”
D’Amaro said the short-form and creator push targets younger audiences specifically. “This is specifically important when we think about Gen Alpha, obviously, the newest generation of Disney fans,” he said. Disney is also tracking newer properties and early fan engagement to determine where to direct IP investment, citing “Zootopia” and Pixar’s “Hoppers” as examples.
Apple TV+ tied HBO Max for fourth place at 12% each. Apple TV+ recorded the largest quarterly gain among all tracked platforms, adding 4 percentage points from Q4 2025 and 4 percentage points over the year. The report attributes the platform’s performance to audience interest in “Shrinking,” “Severance,” and F1, along with several film and television awards. HBO Max, by contrast, lost 1 percentage point for the quarter and 1 percentage point annually. The platform launched the new “Game of Thrones” series, “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,” and also benefited from the success of “Heated Rivalry.” HBO Max held two Oscar Best Picture frontrunners, “Sinners” and “One Battle After Another.”
Peacock Gains; Paramount+ Records Steepest Decline
Among smaller platforms, Peacock Premium reached 4% market share, gaining 2 percentage points both quarter over quarter and year over year. The platform’s performance was supported by “Ted,” the TV series adaptation of the film, exclusive streaming rights to Oscar-winning “Hamnet,” which ranked first on this month’s streaming charts, and “Bugonia.”
Paramount+ posted the sharpest decline of any tracked platform, losing 3 percentage points in the quarter to fall to a 3% share, and dropping 4 percentage points on an annual basis. Its top-performing titles during the quarter included “The Madison” and “The Running Man (2025).” PBS held a 2% share, unchanged from both the prior quarter and the year-ago period. The category of other platforms collectively accounted for 4% of the market, stable quarter over quarter and down 1 percentage point annually.
The data is collected from JustWatch’s global base of more than 60 million monthly users across 140 countries and is updated daily across 4,500 streaming services. Figures in the report are rounded to the nearest whole percentage point, and platforms with fluctuations smaller than 0.5 percentage points are classified as stable.
Image source: JustWatch The full report is available here
Cecilia Carloni, Interview Manager at Influence Weekly and writer for NetInfluencer. Coming from beautiful Argentina, Ceci has spent years chatting with big names in the influencer world, making friends and learning insider info along the way. When she’s not deep in interviews or writing, she's enjoying life with her two daughters. Ceci’s stories give a peek behind the curtain of influencer life, sharing the real and interesting tales from her many conversations with movers and shakers in the space.
Disney+ posted its strongest annual market share gain in the U.S. subscription streaming market during the first quarter of 2026, closing the gap with Netflix and Prime Video as the company expands its creator partnerships and short-form content strategy, according to a new report from streaming content search engine JustWatch.
The quarterly market shares report, drawn from more than 35 million streaming interactions on the JustWatch platform between January 1 and March 31, 2026, tracks user behavior across more than 300 subscription video on demand (SVOD) providers in the U.S. JustWatch measures user interest by recording watchlist additions, streaming service click-throughs, and title “seen” markings across its website, TV, and mobile apps.
Netflix retained the top position with a 19% market share, down 1 percentage point from the prior quarter and down 1 percentage point year over year. Prime Video held second place at 17%, but recorded a steeper decline of 4 percentage points both quarter over quarter and year over year.
Disney+ and Apple TV+ Post Largest Gains
Disney+ reached a 16% market share, gaining 2 percentage points from Q4 2025 and 4 percentage points over the past year, placing it as the third-largest platform in the market. Hulu, which shares corporate ownership with Disney+, held steady at 11% quarter over quarter while adding 1 percentage point annually. Disney’s performance this quarter drew support from the Hulu title “Paradise,” which ranked second on U.S. monthly streaming charts. Both platforms also benefited from streaming interest in Oscar nominees “The Secret Agent” and “Sentimental Value,” both of which appeared in the JustWatch top 10 in March.
The market share gains coincide with a broader platform strategy that Disney outlined during its most recent earnings call. New CEO Josh D’Amaro said the company’s recently launched vertical video feed, Verts, is “already driving deeper engagement” with Disney’s content library. Verts, which rolled out in March, launched with clips drawn from Disney’s existing movies and TV shows and is modeled on short-form, scrollable video formats.
Disney has also added creator-produced content to Disney+ and Hulu through a separate initiative called the “Creator Collection,” a catalog of horizontal content from digital creators tied to new franchise releases, including “Predator: Badlands” and the live-action “Lilo & Stitch.” D’Amaro said the company plans to expand that work with creators “in the months ahead” and will focus on ensuring Disney’s intellectual property “shows up in relevant ways across social platforms.”
D’Amaro said the short-form and creator push targets younger audiences specifically. “This is specifically important when we think about Gen Alpha, obviously, the newest generation of Disney fans,” he said. Disney is also tracking newer properties and early fan engagement to determine where to direct IP investment, citing “Zootopia” and Pixar’s “Hoppers” as examples.
Apple TV+ tied HBO Max for fourth place at 12% each. Apple TV+ recorded the largest quarterly gain among all tracked platforms, adding 4 percentage points from Q4 2025 and 4 percentage points over the year. The report attributes the platform’s performance to audience interest in “Shrinking,” “Severance,” and F1, along with several film and television awards. HBO Max, by contrast, lost 1 percentage point for the quarter and 1 percentage point annually. The platform launched the new “Game of Thrones” series, “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,” and also benefited from the success of “Heated Rivalry.” HBO Max held two Oscar Best Picture frontrunners, “Sinners” and “One Battle After Another.”
Peacock Gains; Paramount+ Records Steepest Decline
Among smaller platforms, Peacock Premium reached 4% market share, gaining 2 percentage points both quarter over quarter and year over year. The platform’s performance was supported by “Ted,” the TV series adaptation of the film, exclusive streaming rights to Oscar-winning “Hamnet,” which ranked first on this month’s streaming charts, and “Bugonia.”
Paramount+ posted the sharpest decline of any tracked platform, losing 3 percentage points in the quarter to fall to a 3% share, and dropping 4 percentage points on an annual basis. Its top-performing titles during the quarter included “The Madison” and “The Running Man (2025).” PBS held a 2% share, unchanged from both the prior quarter and the year-ago period. The category of other platforms collectively accounted for 4% of the market, stable quarter over quarter and down 1 percentage point annually.
The data is collected from JustWatch’s global base of more than 60 million monthly users across 140 countries and is updated daily across 4,500 streaming services. Figures in the report are rounded to the nearest whole percentage point, and platforms with fluctuations smaller than 0.5 percentage points are classified as stable.
Image source: JustWatch
The full report is available here
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