Julia Stoll
Research expert covering TV and video media
Streaming in Canada - statistics & facts
Many years ago, streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, and Spotify took the entertainment world by storm and greatly altered the way in which consumers view media content. Canada has been one of the quickest countries to embrace the streaming trend, trailing only the United States and Norway in terms of subscription video streaming penetration rate. Recent surveys suggest that Canadian adults spent nearly one hour and 30 minutes listening to music via streaming services. Both streaming music and streaming video have quickly established themselves among the most popular online activities for Canadians.
With a forecast suggesting that the streaming music and video services will count more than 35 million users in 2027, streaming media looks to be set to continue its growth in Canada in the coming years.
Video streaming
As of 2023, consumers in Canada subscribed to on average 3.5 video-on-demand services, a number that will likely continue to grow in the upcoming years. As SVOD platforms have a large library of good content, online platforms are slowly pushing traditional cable video providers out of the market. Netflix is the most popular among subscription streaming video services, with a total of 70 percent of Canadians viewing the service as of 2024. By comparison, the domestic offer Crave reached 23 percent of the population. In addition to Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Crave, free streaming services such as YouTube and Tubi are becoming more and more popular, especially among younger generations.Audio streaming
Streaming audio has experienced similar success in the Canadian market, evidenced by the fact that total music streaming services reached over 8.6 million users in 2023, and this number is forecast to continue to grow in the upcoming years. The song “Last Night” by Morgan Wallen was streamed nearly 123 million times in 2023, and about one in three Canadian adults listen to podcasts on at least a monthly basis that year. Apart from Spotify, popular digital music brands in the country include Amazon Music, YouTube Music, and Apple Music.With a forecast suggesting that the streaming music and video services will count more than 35 million users in 2027, streaming media looks to be set to continue its growth in Canada in the coming years.
