A new listing of the top 10 over-the-top streaming services in the third quarter of 2017 shows that MLB.TV is the lone sports-only service among heavy hitters Netflix, Amazon Video, Hulu, HBO Now, Starz and CBS All Acccess.
Naturally, Netflix is tops with 52.8 million subscribers in the U.S. according to research company Parks Associates. Amazon Video is in second with Hulu third followed by MLB.TV.
Rounding out the top ten are HBO Now, Starz, YouTube Red (YouTube’s subscription service), Showtime, CBS All Access and Dish’s Sling TV.
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CBS All Access also offers sports such as college basketball, golf, the NCAA Tournament and NFL. However, it’s using original entertainment content like the Star Trek franchise to attract subscribers.
MLB.TV’s ability to provide baseball games to a streaming audience shows its subscriber base has grown to the point where it can sit with big boys such as Netflix, Amazon and Hulu.
It also comes before ESPN launches its own over-the-top service next year. It will take time for ESPN to build a subscriber base, but Disney is confident that the Worldwide Leader’s content which will include MLB games will be able to stand on its own.
MLB.TV’s standing in the top 10 streaming services shows baseball’s power in this age of OTT. We’ll see if MLB.TV can continue to grow in the coming years and maintain its position in the top ten.
