NEW YORK: Unused streaming subscriptions are rising in the United States, with 49.6% of surveyed Starz subscribers saying they had not used the service for at least 30 days.
Self Financial’s survey of 1,272 US adults, conducted in March 2026, ranked Disney+ second at 44.4%. Netflix followed at 38.1%, HBO Max at 35.7%, and Apple TV+ at 34.1%.
The study defined an unused subscription as a paid service that had not been used during the previous 30 days. Nearly 60% of respondents said they had at least one such subscription.
Respondents reported an average of 3.4 active paid subscriptions per month. Among those with unused services, the average number of services left unused reached 2.6, up from 0.8 in the Self Financials 2025 survey.
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The average monthly value of those unused subscriptions reached USD 26.79, according to Self Financial. Separately, a July CNET survey estimated that US adults spend USD 111 per month on subscriptions and waste about USD 21 per month on services they do not use.
Amazon Prime Video ranked first when Self Financial asked which streaming platform respondents were most likely to cancel, at 38.5%. Disney+ followed at 33.9% and Netflix at 32.3%.
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Cost pressure is also affecting subscription habits. Deloitte’s 2026 Digital Media Trends research found that around 40% of consumers had recently cut entertainment subscriptions due to financial concerns.
