Watching analysts, research companies and trade pubs like this one ponder the subscription video business is a bit like observing Stanley Kubrick's monkeys in 2001: A Space Odyssey peruse the monolith that suddenly appeared in front of their cave. 

How many subscribers does the black box (rectangular cuboid?) known as Amazon Prime Video have? Do you count a user who just pays the $139 annual Prime service fee for free shipping as a Prime Video subscriber? Does watching one video a month make a Prime member a Prime Video user? Two videos? Three? Can you get free next-day shipping on the monolith?

And is it, er, monolithic to compare Amazon Prime Video to Netflix in terms of sheer paid user girth?

Maybe. But Parks Associates is doing just that, anyway. 

Through its own means and ways, the research company projects that Amazon Prime Video has surpassed Netflix in sheer number of paid U.S. subscribers. (Netflix finished the third quarter with just under 73.4 million customers in the U.S and Canada.)

Parks says it's been measuring this U.S. benchmark since 2019, and it's the first time Netflix has been surpassed. 

Listen, Next TV likes to stir up the ol' monkey bin as much as the next guy, but we're a little more circumspect on suddenly declaring Amazon Prime Video the top subscription OTT service in America. 

Just look at Nielsen's latest Top 10 weekly streaming rankings (for Oct. 31 - Nov. 6). Every show in the top 10 for most minutes streamed in the U.S. that week was on Netflix. 

It's pretty clear that Netflix is still drawing significantly more engagement than any other subscription OTT platform out there. 

Comcast maintained the top spot in Netflix’s monthly ISP Speed Index for January 2017 in the U.S., delivering an average Netflix speed of 3.83 Mbps.

 That led all major U.S. major ISPs measured by Netflix, as well as a bigger group that includes smaller ISPs.

Among majors, Comcast, which recently integrated Netflix on X1 set-tops and has a paid interconnection deal with the OTT provider, was followed by Optimum (the former Cablevision Systems properties now owned by Altice USA), with an average of 3.79  Mbps, Bright House Networks (now part of Charter Communications), at 3.77 Mbps, Verizon Fios (3.72 Mbps), and Cox Communications (3.71 Mbps).

Of that group, Optimum and Bright House both rose one slot, while Fios dropped two spots.

The bottom five among large U.S. ISPs were: Frontier Communications (3 Mbps), CenturyLink (2.92 Mbps), AT&T-DSL (2.85 Mbps), Windstream (2.7 Mbps), and Verizon-DSL (2.58 Mbps).

With smaller ISPs included, Comcast had a small lead on Grande Communications  and WideOpenWest (3.80 Mbps) and Midco (3.79 Mbps). Google Fiber, which used to lead the pack regularly, was 12th on that list, delivering an average of 3.69 Mbps.

The Netflix Speed Index bases scores on average Netflix streaming speeds during prime time hours. The small difference among ISPs, particularly at the top of the list, likely doesn’t impact quality as much as it gives bragging rights to service providers.

Among individual countries, ISPs measured by Netflix in Switzerland led with an average of 4.23 Mbps, followed by Belgium (4.04 Mbps), the Netherlands (4.03 Mbps), Luxembourg (3.89 Mbps) and Denmark and Sweden (3.85 Mbps). U.S. ISPs averaged 3.53 Mbps in January 2017.

Comcast, for the first time, was the top performing major U.S. ISP during December 2016, according to Netflix’s latest ISP Speed Index.

Comcast obtained those bragging rights (there  isn’t much of a discernable difference among the top 10 ISPs that are ranked), generating an average Netflix streaming speed during prime time hours of 3.84 Mbps, up from 3.67 Mbps in November 2016. Coincidentally, Comcast, which has a paid interconnection deal with the OTT-SVOD provider, recently integrated Netflix on its X1 platform.

Comcast’s December numbers were good enough to pull ahead of Verizon Fios (3.81 Mbps), Optimum/Altice USA/former Cablevision Systems (3.80), and Bright House (3.78 Mbps), which dropped three spots and is now part of Charter Communications. The bottom three among major U.S. ISPs were CenturyLink (2.79 Mbps), Windstream (2.70 Mbps) and Verizon-DSL (2.60 Mbps).

Comcast also was tops with smaller U.S. ISPs factored into Netflix’s rankings, staying a small step ahead of WideOpen West  and Grande Communications (3.82 Mbps).

In Canada, Videotron remained the top performing major ISP in that country when viewed through Netflix’s lens, delivering an average of 3.62 Mbps, enough to outpace Shaw Communications (3.55 Mbps) and Rogers Communications (3.54 Mbps).

Bright House Networks became part of Charter Communications on a high note, as it was the top performing major ISP in May 2016, inching past Verizon Fios, according to Netflix’s latest speed rankings.

However, there  isn’t much of a discernable difference among the top 10 U.S. ISPs when viewed through the Netflix lens.

In May, Bright House delivered an average Netflix streaming speed during prime time hours of 3.65 Mbps, just ahead of Verizon Fios (3.64 Mbps), Cox Communications (3.62 Mbps), Cablevision Systems (3.61 Mbps), Charter (3.58 Mbps), Comcast (3.54 Mbps), Time Warner Cable (3.52 Mbps), Mediacom Communications (3.48 Mbps), Suddenlink/Altice (3.38 Mbps) and AT&T U-verse (3.37 Mbps).

Notably, Bright House had been taking advantage of Time Warner Cable’s paid peering deal with Netflix. However, all of that is going by the wayside as Charter, per the conditions of its acquisitions of TWC and Bright House acquisitions, is operating under a settlement-free interconnection model.

AT&T-DSL (2.69 Mbps), Windstream (2.45 Mbps), Verizon-DSL (1.96 Mbps) and CenturyLink (1.66 Mbps) remained at the bottom of the Netflix rankings among major U.S. ISPs.

With smaller ISPs factored in, Grande Communications (3.74 Mbps) was tops, followed by Midco (3.73 Mbps), WideOpenWest (3.71 Mbps), EPB (3.69 Mbps) and Bright House.

On a global basis, Switzerland, with an average of 3.93 Mbps, was the best Netflix performer, followed by the Netherlands (3.82 Mbps), Belgium (3.79 Mbps), Luxembourg (3.77 Mbps), and Sweden (3.7 Mbps). U.S. ISPs measured by Netflix averaged 3.28 Mbps in May, the same as April.

Verizon FiOS remained on top of Netflix’s ISP Speed Index for the month of February among the nation’s major ISPs, with Bright House Networks and Time Warner Cable rising in the OTT provider’s monthly rankings.  

Verizon FiOS’s average Netflix speed during primetime hours for February clocked in at 3.79 Mbps, enough to keep a slight edge on Cox Communication (3.71 Mbps.), Bright House and Cablevision Systems (3.69 Mbps each), and Comcast (3.65 Mbps). 

Among ISP gainers, Bright House jumped six spots (to number three among major U.S. ISPs rated by Netflix), while TWC rose two spots (to number eight). Notably, TWC has a paid interconnection deal with Netflix, and Bright House has been taking advantage of the TWC-Netflix deal.  Charter Communications, which is trying to acquire TWC and Bright House, has pledged to extend its current “settlement-free” interconnection policy to the acquired systems, a decision that Netflix has praised.

Cablevision and Comcast each fell one spot in the rankings, while Mediacom Communications, Suddenlink Communications and AT&T U-verse each fell two spots.

Windstream (2.45 Mbps), Verizon –DSL (2.08 Mbps) and  CenturyLink (1.54 Mbps) remained at the bottom of Netflix’s rankings of top U.S. ISPs.

With smaller ISPs factored into Netflix’s rankings, Grande Communications and Midco (3.82 Mbps average) shared the top spot, followed by WideOpenWest (3.81 Mbps), Verizon FiOS and EPG (3.79 Mbps), and Cox Communications (3.71 Mbps).

Among individual countries tracked by Netflix, the Netherlands led with a 4.04 Mbps average, followed by Belgium and Luxembourg (3.92 Mbps), and Sweden (3.82). The U.S. averaged 3.34 Mbps for February, down from 3.5 Mbps in January 2016.

At CES in January, Netflix announced it had expanded service to 130 additional countries.

Editor's note: This story was swapped with an earlier post that had been based on Netflix data from January 2016. 

Netflix’s ISP Speed Index for January 2016 saw some jockeying as Bright House Networks and Time Warner Cable dropped several spots, while several other major U.S. ISPs saw gains, including Comcast, Mediacom Communications, Suddenlink Communications, and AT&T U-verse.

Verizon FiOS, with an average Netflix streaming speed during primetime hours of 3.88 Mbps, remained tops among major U.S. ISPs measured by Netflix, followed by Cox Communications (3.85 Mbps), Cablevision Systems (3.82 Mbps.), and Comcast (3.72 Mbps).

Bright House Networks (3.53 Mbps) dropped five spots, to number nine among major U.S. ISPs, while TWC (3.39 Mbps) dropped two spots, to number 10. Notably, TWC has a paid interconnection deal with Netflix, and Bright House Networks is benefiting from that agreement. However, Charter Communications, which is in the process of buying TWC and Bright House, has pledged to extend its  "settlement-free" interconnection policy to those acquired systems, a decision that has received praise from Netflix.

Update: Netflix confirmed that there is no change in its relationship with TWC. 

The bottom three among top U.S. ISPs were Windstream (2.50 Mbps), Verizon-DSL (2.10 Mbps), and CenturyLink (1.70 Mbps).

With smaller ISPs factored in, Grande Communications (3.98 Mbps) kept the top spot, followed by Midcontinent and WideOpenWest  (3.95 Mbps each), EPB (3.92 Mbps), Verizon FiOS, and Google Fiber (3.88 Mbps).

On a global basis, Luxembourg led with an average of 4.12 Mbps) , followed by Norway (4.07 Mbps), Belgium (4.02 Mbps) , Denmark (3.97 Mbps), and Sweden (3.89 Mbps).  Canada (3.55 Mbps) was ranked 12th, while the U.S. (3.5 Mpbs) was ranked 14th.

At last month’s CES gadgetfest in Las Vegas,  Netflix announced it had expanded service to 130 additional countries.

Verizon FiOS and Cox Communications stayed atop Netflix’s ISP Speed Index for December 2015 among major U.S. ISPs, while Grande Communications retained the crown when smaller ISPs were factored in.

Among majors measured by Netflix, Verizon FiOS averaged Netflix streaming speeds of 3.89 Mbps during primetime in December 2015, according to the OTT provider, up from 3.83 Mbps in the month prior.

Cox (3.82 Mbps) followed, as Cablevision Systems hopped one spot, to number three, trading spots with Bright House. Charter Communications (No. 6) and Mediacom Communications (No. 7) also rose one spot, as Time Warner Cable dropped two spots, to number eight on the Netflix rankings.

The bottom three among U.S. majors were Windstream (2.50 Mbps), Verizon DSL (2.13 Mbps) and CenturyLink (1.95 Mbps).

With smaller ISPs included,  Grande Communications led with an average of 3.96 Mbps, followed closely by Midcontinent Communications (3.93 Mbps), Verizon FiOS and EPB (both 3.89 Mbps), Google Fiber (3.88 Mbps), WideOpenWest (3.86 Mbps) and RCN (3.84 Mbps).

Given the closeness between providers, the rankings provide bragging rights, though Netflix had earlier used them to shine the light on the average (usually, lower) Netflix speeds provided by ISPs that were not part of its Open Connect CDN program.   Since then, a handful of major U.S. ISPs, including AT&T, Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Verizon, have signed paid interconnection deals with Netflix. Bright House is benefiting from the TWC deal.  Notably, Charter Communications has pledged to extend its  "settlement-free" interconnection policy to systems it’s trying to acquire from TWC and Bright House, a decision that is supported by Netflix.

On a country-by-country basis, Luxembourg led with a 4.12 Mbps average in December, followed by Belgium (4.07 Mbps), Netherlands (4.02 Mbps), Denmark (3.97 Mbps), and Sweden (3.96 Mbps). The U.S. (3.45 Mbps) was ranked 16th among countries that were measured by Netflix in its December 2015 rankings.

At last week’s CES, Netflix announced it had expanded service to 130 additional countries.

Comcast was the biggest mover among major U.S. ISPs ranked by Netflix for the month of October, rising two spots, to number six on the list.

Comcast, the beneficiary of a paid interconnection deal with Netflix, produced an average Netflix streaming speed during peak times of 3.61 Mbps, versus 3.52 Mbps in the prior month.

Verizon  FiOS (3.75 Mbps) stayed on top with respect to major ISPs, followed by Cox (3.73 Mbps), Bright House Networks (3.72 Mbps), which inched past Cablevision Systems (3.71 Mbps.). Among this group Frontier (2.46 Mbps), CenturyLink (2.26 Mbps), Verizon DSL (2.12 Mbps) and Clearwire (1.31 Mbps) were at the bottom.

With smaller ISPs added, Grande Communications was tops (3.84 Mbps), followed by Midcontinent Communications, Verizon FiOS, EPB, Google Fiber, WideOpenWest, RCN and Cox. The bitrate range between these providers is small, but still provide bragging rights. 

Netflix also tracks ISPs in Canada, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom,  Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Uruguay, Australia, Japan and New Zealand.

Netflix  will add ISPs from Spain, Portugal and Italy to its rankings starting next month.

Bright House Networks and Time  Warner Cable were the big gainers in Netflix’s ISP Speed Index for August, while Cox Communications maintained its overall lead among major broadband service providers.

Bright House rose two spots, to No. 4 on the list, with an average speed of 3.57 Mbps in August, up from 3.42 Mbps in the prior month. TWC jumped three spots, putting it just behind Bright House, with an average of 3.53 Mbps, up from 3.37 Mbps in July.

TWC has a paid interconnection deal with Netflix. Bright House is currently benefiting from that agreement.

Among other movers, Verizon FiOS swapped spots with  Cablevision Systems, to take the No. 2 slot on the list. Charter dropped two spots (to No. 6), as did Comcast (to No. 7)

With smaller ISPs factored in, Grande Communications and Google Fiber tied for August with an average Netflix streaming speed of 3.80 Mbps, followed by Midcontinent Communications (3.74 Mbps), EPB (3.73 Mbps), RCN (3.71 Mbps), and WideOpenWest (3.7 Mbps).

Comcast, AT&T, and Verizon also have paid interconnection deals with Netflix. Several US ISPs, including Cox, RCN, WOW, Cablevision and Suddenlink, are also members of Open Connect, Netflix’s private content delivery network that relies on edge caches.

Cox Communications hopped to the top of Netflix’s ISP Speed Index among top U.S. ISPs for the month of June, while Verizon FiOS dropped two spots, good for the No. 3 position.

That was the highlight amid some jockeying among the nation’s top ISPs, at least when viewed through Netflix’s lens, which calculates its rankings by measuring performance of Netflix streams during prime time hours.

Those rankings, particularly at the top, don’t represent a huge difference in terms of average Netflix streaming speeds. But they do provide ISPs with bragging rights, considering that Netflix represents more than one-third U.S. Internet traffic on fixed networks, according to Sandvine.

Cox, with an average of 3.58 Mbps, rose two spots to claim the top slot, edging out Cablevision Systems (3.57 Mbps), Verizon FiOS (3.43 Mbps), Comcast (3.39 Mbps), and Suddenlink Communications (3.37 Mbps), which rose three spots. Time Warner Cable dropped two spots, to No. 9, with an average of 3.19 Mbps.

Cox, Cablevision Systems and Suddenlink are among the known members of Open Connect, Netflix’s private content delivery network that uses single-purpose edge caches. Netflix has also signed paid interconnection deals with Comcast, TWC, Verizon and AT&T (Bright House is benefiting from the TWC-Netflix agreement).

Clearwire, the only wireless ISP represented on that list, remained in last place (1.13 Mbps), ahead of Verizon DSL (1.83 Mbps) and CenturyLink (2.25 Mbps), which dropped two spots.

Under Netflix’s expanded results, Google Fiber remained at the top of the U.S. ISP heap (3.80 Mbps), followed by Grande Communications (3.73 Mbps), Midcontinent Communications (3.65 Mbps) and RCN (3.64 Mbps).

Verizon FiOS retained its crown as the speediest major U.S. ISP as viewed through the Netflix lens, producing an average Netflix streaming speed of 3.55 Mbps during primetime hours for the month of April.  

According to the latest Netflix’s ISP Speed Index, Cox Communications was next, with an average of 3.49 Mbps, just enough to edge past Cablevision Systems (3.48 Mbps).

Netflix noted in a blog post that streaming speeds over Cox’s network has been steadily increasing, up from 3.11 Mbps in November 2014.

Among other movers, Time Warner Cable (3.29 Mbps) jumped one spot, to No. 7, swapping places with Mediacom Communications (3.26 Mbps).

AT&T-DSL (2.32 Mbps) and CenturyLink (2.30 Mbps) also jumped two spots, while Frontier Communications (2.28 Mbps) dropped one slot, to number 13, and Windstream Communications (2.25 Mbps) dropped three spots, to No. 14, putting it ahead of only Verizon-DSL and Clearwire.

In Netflix’s expanded results for the U.S., Google Fiber (3.63 Mbps) continued to top all ISPs, outpacing Grande Communication, Verizon FiOS, EPB, CDE Lightband, and Midcontinent Communications.

Netflix historically has used its monthly ISP speed rankings to push Open Connect, its private content delivery network that relies on edge caching devices. The OTT video giant, however, has agreed to paid interconnection deals with four major U.S. ISPs -- Verizon, Comcast, AT&T and Time Warner (Bright House Networks is benefiting from the TWC-Netflix deal), and recently struck a non-paid interconnection deal with Mediacom.

Verizon and Netflix have not always seen eye-to-eye, but the two appear to be working toward the common good in New York, where the telco is pitching a triple-play promo capped off by a full year of Netflix and a $150 Visa gift card.

BTIG analyst Richard Greenfield, who spotted the promo and  has posted a video of a spot that touts the offer (registration required), said the team-up is a “[r]emarkable change for a company whose broadband subscribers had suffered poor Netflix performance until the benefits of this past summer’s peering/interconnect agreement kicked-in last month.”

Things between Netflix and Verizon got heated in June, when Verizon threatened to sue Netflix when Netflix temporarily was using on-screen messages that blamed ISPs by name for slow video streams. That dust-up came after the companies had struck a paid peering agreement (which Netflix says it reluctantly agreed to). However, that interconnection agreement has resulted in Verizon FiOS shooting to the top of Netflix’s ISP Speed Index for the nation’s largest ISPs (Netflix has similar interconnection deals in place with Comcast, Time Warner Cable and AT&T).

But this Netflix-centric promo from Verizon is temporary and geo-limited. Verizon told Greenfield that the FiOS/Netflix offer is limited to the New York DMA and is short-lived – running through November 1).

A Verizon official would only note that the telco picked New York for the trial because “of its highly competitive environment.” RCN and Time Warner Cable also operate there, not to mention DirecTV and Dish Network. Verizon, meanwhile, has continued to expand its FiOS subscriber base, though at a slower rate.

And there’s no commitment by Verizon to try this out in other markets, and whether this means that Verizon is eager to offer Netflix in the set-tops it leases to FiOS TV subs.

Historically, Netflix has been a stickler about requiring MVPDs to be part of Open Connect, its private content delivery network, before it will allow for direct set-top box integrations. Mediacom Communications, for example, is a TiVo partner and is interested in adding Netflix to its leased video platform, but said recently that Netflix appears to be using integration on leased TiVo boxes “as a bargaining chip in their Open Connect negotiations.”

And we'll have to see if other MVPDs use Netflix as a way to draw in new subscribers. Verizon’s not the only MVPD that's tried it. Earlier this year, Dish offered six free months of Netflix to customers who take its Hopper HD DVR.

Thanks to a paid interconnection deal announced in April, Verizon FiOS has surged to the top of Netflix’s ISP Speed Index for September, unseating Cablevision Systems as the best performer (by a small margin) among the 16 major U.S. broadband providers ranked each month by Netflix.

Verizon FiOS ,with an average Netflix streaming speed of 3.17 Mbps, rose nine spots in the rankings, up from the 2.41 Mbps average Verizon FiOS turned in for August 2014.  Verizon DSL averaged 1.68 Mbps in September (beating its 1.31 Mbps average for August), good enough to move it one spot ahead of now last-place Clearwire.

Among the other major ISPs ranked by Netflix, Cablevision’s 3.17 Mbps average was good for the second spot, followed by Cox Communications (3.04 Mbps); Bright House Networks (2.99 Mbps); Charter Communications (2.95 Mbps); Comcast (2.92 Mbps); Suddenlink Communications (2.91 Mbps); Time Warner Cable (2.87 Mbps); AT&T U-verse (2.77 Mbps), Mediacom Communications (2.68 Mbps); Frontier Communications (1.99 Mbps); Windstream (1.97 Mbps); CenturyLink Communications (1.92 Mbps); AT&T DSL (1.91 Mbps), Verizon DSL (1.68 Mbps); and Clearwire (1.03 Mbps.).

As jockeying position goes, Bright House jumped five spots in September, while Comcast and  AT&T U-verse each dropped two spots. Mediacom dropped four spots.  

Updated: A Netflix official confirmed that Bright House has an interconnection deal via the streamer's relationship with Time Warner Cable. More details are available here.

Netflix has announced paid interconnection deals with AT&T, Comcast, Verizon and Time Warner Cable, and has urged the FCC to include peering deals into the discussion as the Commission pursues new network neutrality rules. Netflix’s preference is to have ISPs join Open Connect, Netflix’s private content delivery network that relies on edge caching appliances.

According to Netflix’s expanded U.S. results, Google Fiber was still tops, with an average of 3.54 Mbps, followed by Grande Communications (3.33 Mbps), Midcontinent Communications (3.24 Mbps), and RCN (3.21 Mbps).

Netflix spokeswoman Anne Marie Squeo noted in a blog post that the average Netflix streaming speed in the U.S. has risen about 500 Kbps in the last two months, averaging 2.72 Mbps for September. That puts the U.S. at No. 13th on Netflix’s nation-by-nation rankings, which has just added six new European countries to the index -- France, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, and Luxembourg.

Switzerland (3.81 Mbps average) topped Netflix’s global raking, followed by Belgium (3.77 Mbps);  Austria (3.64 Mbps); The Netherlands (3.58 Mbps); Germany (3.52 Mbps); Sweden (3.39 Mbps);  Denmark (3.33 Mbps); Norway (3.3 Mbps); France (3.12 Mbps);  Finland (3.04 Mbps); United Kingdom (3.02 Mbps); Canada (2.86 Mbps); and the U.S.