Surround sound now spans televisions, soundbars, speakers, AV receivers, mobile devices, computers, streaming services, music catalogs and vehicles. The available measures mix device capability, product-model counts, sales trends, viewing, studio networks and spending, so they should not be read as one adoption rate.
Key Surround Sound Statistics
The most useful headline figures across the measured periods and geographies are:
- In the 2022–2023 report period, more than 1.5 billion devices worldwide supported Dolby Atmos across the global device ecosystem.
- From 2017 to 2022, European sales of new 4K TVs enabled with Dolby Atmos increased 27-fold.
- From 2016 Q1 to 2022 Q3, European sales of Dolby Atmos-enabled devices increased more than tenfold.
- From 2016 Q1 to 2022 Q3, European sales of legacy-format devices fell 50%.
- In fiscal 2024, more than 20 automotive OEM partners globally supported Dolby Atmos.
- In July–December 2024, Netflix members watched over 94 billion hours globally.
- In July–December 2024, Netflix viewing increased 5% year over year globally.
- In July–December 2024, Squid Game Season 2 generated 87 million Netflix views globally.
- In July–December 2024, nearly one-third of Netflix viewing came from non-English shows and films globally.
- At its June 2021 launch, Apple Music offered more than 75 million songs in Lossless Audio.
- Apple Music for Artists listed more than 1,000 Dolby studios worldwide on the page accessed in 2026.
- Apple Music’s policy page accessed in 2026 stated that Spatial Audio content can receive up to a 10% higher sound-recording royalty rate.
- Global theatrical and home/mobile entertainment consumer spending reached $101.0 billion in 2019.
- Global digital home entertainment spending reached $48.7 billion in 2019.
- Global physical home entertainment spending was $10.1 billion in 2019.
Contents
- Dolby Atmos device reach and home-market growth
- Surround sound data for TVs, speakers, soundbars and AV receivers
- European Dolby Atmos adoption trends
- Streaming and Netflix viewing statistics
- Spatial-audio music statistics
- Home-entertainment and cinema spending
Dolby Atmos Device Reach and Home-Market Growth
Dolby’s “Dolby is for Everyone” market-status infographic reported more than 1.5 billion Dolby Atmos-capable devices worldwide in its 2022–2023 report period. This is a Dolby-reported global ecosystem estimate: it describes capability, not active users, listening hours or the number of installed home-theater systems. Dolby, “Dolby is for Everyone”
The same report counted supported product models across the global ecosystem:
| Product category | Dolby Atmos-supported models | What the measure represents |
|---|---|---|
| TVs | 460 | Model count, not unit sales or households |
| Speakers | 350 | Model count, not installed systems |
| Soundbars | 50 | Model count; distinct from discrete-speaker systems |
| Smartphones and tablets | 110 | Model count, not active devices |
| PCs | 370 | Model count, not installed base |
| AVRs and home-theater-in-a-box systems | 170 | Model count, not sales |
These figures show breadth across categories rather than a single household penetration measure. A compatible television, phone or receiver does not establish that its owner used Dolby Atmos.
Dolby also reported more than 8 billion consumer-electronics devices compatible with Dolby Digital Plus worldwide on its 2023 page. Dolby Digital Plus is broader than Dolby Atmos, so this figure should not be treated as Atmos adoption or as a count of surround-sound users. Dolby, “Dolby is for Everyone”
Surround Sound Data for TVs, Speakers, Soundbars and AV Receivers
The model counts make the consumer-device landscape easier to separate. In the 2022–2023 report, Dolby listed 460 TV models, 350 speaker models, 50 soundbar models, 110 smartphone and tablet models, 370 PC models, and 170 AVR or home-theater-in-a-box models supporting Dolby Atmos globally.
The categories are not interchangeable. Speakers and AV receivers can form part of a discrete surround system, while a soundbar is a different product architecture; phones and PCs measure playback capability rather than a room installation.
Dolby’s report also included related Dolby Vision model counts, which are useful only as adjacent audiovisual ecosystem context:
- 22 TV brands supported Dolby Vision in the global product ecosystem.
- 120 pay-TV set-top-box models supported Dolby Vision globally.
- 20 streaming-media-player models supported Dolby Vision globally.
- 2 game-console models supported Dolby Vision globally.
- 70 smartphone and tablet models supported Dolby Vision globally.
- 10 PC models supported Dolby Vision globally.
Dolby Vision is a related video format, not a surround-sound measure. The source’s model counts do not indicate sales, installed base, household ownership or active playback. Dolby, “Dolby is for Everyone”
European Dolby Atmos Adoption Trends
European sales indicators in Dolby’s 2022–2023 market-status report show strong growth in the Atmos-enabled product category, but they are sales trends rather than household penetration. Between 2017 and 2022, sales of new 4K TVs enabled with Dolby Atmos increased 27-fold in Europe; the source supplied no absolute unit totals.
The report also compared a wider device grouping across the period from 2016 Q1 to 2022 Q3:
| European sales measure | Period | Reported change |
|---|---|---|
| Dolby Atmos-enabled devices | 2016 Q1–2022 Q3 | More than tenfold increase |
| Legacy-format devices | 2016 Q1–2022 Q3 | 50% decrease |
| New 4K TVs enabled with Dolby Atmos | 2017–2022 | 27-fold increase |
The legacy-format category is Dolby’s comparison group and does not represent every non-Atmos device. The reported changes should therefore be read as relative sales indexes, not as a complete European market share calculation. Dolby, “Dolby is for Everyone”
Dolby separately reported that the number of global automotive OEM partners supporting Dolby Atmos rose from 10 to more than 20 between fiscal 2023 and fiscal 2024. The fiscal 2024 total is a partner count, not vehicle sales, vehicle penetration or the number of cars delivering Atmos playback. Dolby, “Dolby is for Everyone”
Surround Sound Statistics in Streaming and Netflix Viewing
Netflix’s “What We Watched the Second Half of 2024” report recorded over 94 billion hours viewed globally from July through December 2024, up 5% year over year. Netflix said the engagement report covered approximately 99% of its video watch time, but these measures describe service engagement rather than Dolby Atmos playback. Netflix, “What We Watched the Second Half of 2024”
Netflix defines its views metric as hours viewed divided by runtime, so the following are not counts of unique people or Atmos plays:
- Squid Game Season 2 generated 87 million views globally in July–December 2024 and accounted for 0.7% of Netflix viewing in the report period.
- The Grinch generated 67 million views globally in July–December 2024.
- Trolls Band Together generated 61 million views globally in July–December 2024.
- That Christmas generated 60 million views globally in July–December 2024.
- La Palma generated 52 million views globally in July–December 2024.
Ten of Netflix’s top 25 films in the second half of 2024 were animated, and nearly one-third of viewing came from non-English shows and films. Those results describe catalog performance and language mix, not the share watched through surround sound or spatial audio. Netflix, “What We Watched the Second Half of 2024”
Spatial-Audio Music Statistics: Apple Music, Tracks and Studios
Apple announced Spatial Audio and Lossless Audio in June 2021. At launch, Apple Music offered more than 75 million songs in Lossless Audio, but the lossless catalog is broader than the Dolby Atmos catalog and should not be used as an Atmos-track count. Apple Newsroom, “Apple Music announces Spatial Audio and Lossless Audio”
Apple’s launch specifications defined several lossless tiers:
| Apple Music format | Stated specification | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Lossless | 16-bit/44.1 kHz | CD quality at launch |
| Lossless on supported Apple devices | Up to 24-bit/48 kHz | Playback capability |
| Hi-Resolution Lossless | Up to 24-bit/192 kHz | Technical format, not Dolby Atmos surround sound |
Apple Music for Artists listed more than 1,000 Dolby studios worldwide on the page accessed in 2026. This is a company-stated studio-network estimate, not a count of songs, users or listening sessions; “1,000+” is intentionally not an exact total. Apple Music for Artists, “What to know about Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos”
The same Apple policy page stated that Spatial Audio content can receive up to a 10% higher sound-recording royalty rate on Apple Music. “Up to” is a maximum policy statement, not an average payout or a guaranteed increase for every recording.
Apple’s 2024 iOS 18 documentation also said Spatial Audio can be used in CarPlay with multichannel-audio-capable vehicles. That is a capability condition, not a count of compatible vehicles. Apple Music for Artists, “What to know about Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos”
Home-Entertainment and Cinema Spending Related to Surround Sound
The Motion Picture Association’s 2019 THEME report measured combined global theatrical and home/mobile entertainment consumer spending, rather than spending on surround-sound hardware or immersive-audio content. The total rose from $75.4 billion in 2015 to $101.0 billion in 2019.
| Year | Global theatrical and home/mobile entertainment spending |
|---|---|
| 2015 | $75.4 billion |
| 2016 | $79.3 billion |
| 2017 | $85.2 billion |
| 2018 | $93.5 billion |
| 2019 | $101.0 billion |
The same MPA series separates physical and digital home entertainment from theatrical spending. In 2019, global physical home entertainment was $10.1 billion, digital home entertainment was $48.7 billion, and theatrical spending was $42.2 billion. Motion Picture Association, “2019 THEME Report: Global Theatrical & Home/Mobile Entertainment”
The category mix changed materially between 2015 and 2019:
- Global physical home entertainment spending fell from $19.7 billion in 2015 to $10.1 billion in 2019.
- Global digital home entertainment spending rose from $16.6 billion in 2015 to $48.7 billion in 2019.
These are chronological consumer-spending figures from the MPA report, not a causal estimate for surround-sound adoption. They provide market context for the shift between physical and digital entertainment, while Dolby, Apple and Netflix supply the more direct capability, content and engagement measures above. Motion Picture Association, “2019 THEME Report: Global Theatrical & Home/Mobile Entertainment”