Netflix Tops Strategic Counsel ‘Must Keep TV’ List for 6th Consecutive Year

Netflix has topped the Strategic Counsel’s “Must Keep TV” list for the sixth year in a row as the leading television brand in the U.S. for 2025.

Following closely behind is ABC hanging onto the 2nd place spot for the sixth consecutive year, followed by Prime Video, CBS and Fox. Rounding out the Top 10 are NBC, which moves up one spot to sixth place; Hulu; Disney+; Paramount+, which enters the Top 10 for the first time since 2021; and Max, which reenters the Top 10 after a brief exit in 2024.

Meanwhile, Peacock dropped out of the Top 10, ranking 11th, while ESPN is now ranked 12th overall despite remaining the No. 1 cable channel brand in the U.S. Fox News Channel climbed to 13th, up from 17th, while Tubi came in 15th and was ranked the top FAST TV brand in the U.S. as Apple TV+ ranked 16th, jumping up from 26th place.

Other brands that saw positive momentum included HGTV, The CW, Hallmark, TNT, SyFy, USA and Bravo, while brands that lost steam included CNN, which dropped to 26th place; History, which dropped to 27th; Nickelodeon and Comedy Central.

The 2025 research is based on online interviews with 1,400 American consumers aged 12 and older conducted at the end of April.

Respondents were shown a list of 83 broadcast, cable and high-penetration streaming brands and asked to identify which ones would be on their ‘must keep TV’ list if they had to choose a limited number.

This marks the 18th edition of the annual survey, which has been done since 2007.

When looking at 18 to 34 year olds, Netflix maintained the top spot for the ninth year in a row, followed by Prime Video, Hulu, ABC and Max. Rounding out that Top 10 were Disney+, Fox, Paramount+, Peacock and CBS.

Other brands that saw positive moment for this demo included Apple TV+ which climbed from 19th to 13th, Fox News Channel, which ranked 14th, National Geographic, SyFy, HGTV and Discovery. Brands recording declines in the demo included Nickelodeon, CW and Comedy Central.

When looking at men ages 18 to 49, Netflix, ABC, Prime Video, Fox, CBS, Max, Hulu, ESPN, NBC and Paramount+ are the Top 10 brands this year, in that order. ESPN remains the No. 1 cable channel in the demo.

Prime Video climbed to the 3rd place spot from 6th and Max climbed to 6th from 10th. Apple TV+ also climbed to 14th from 23rd, while Tubi held on to its mid-teen ranking in 15th place for 2025 as Fox Sports 1 and ESPN2 moved into the Top 20 this year.

When looking at African American audiences, ABC knocked Netflix out of the top spot after a five-year run, which was attributed to its sports schedule. Rounding out that Top 10 were CBS, Prime Video, Fox, NBC, Hulu, Peacock, Max and Tubi.

As for the Latin audience, Netflix was the top streamer, followed by Prime Video in 2nd, and ABC was the top network in 3rd, followed by Hulu and Max. The latter climbed to the 5th place spot from 11th, while Paramount+ entered the Top at 9th, up from 12th last year. Telemundo maintained its ranking as 13th this year, while Univision dropped slightly from 9th to 14th.

When looking at virtual multi-channel video programming distributor (vMVPD) households, Netflix was the top brand, followed by Prime Video, ABC, Hulu and Max. ESPN also notably came in at 7th.

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