Latin American SVOD market to double within five years

Latin America is set to more than double its total SVOD subscriber base within five years.

According to Digital TV Research, the region will have 116 million SVOD subscriptions by 2025, up from the 53 million recorded at the end of 2020.

Of that total, Brazil will be the largest market with 44 million subscribers by 2026. Mexico will be second with 29 million subscribers.

While the market will continue to grow, it will be dominated by US players. Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Apple TV+ and HBO Max will account for 90% of the region’s paying SVOD subscribers. 

Netflix will enhance its position as the biggest player, increasing from 37.5 million subscribers in 2020 to 49.1 million in 2026. Disney+ meanwhile will overtake Amazon to become the second-largest streamer from 2.2 million in 2020 to 33.3 million in 2026 while Amazon will increase from 5.4 million to 14.4 million. Claro Video will be the largest local player with 8.2 million subscribers.

Simon Murray, Principal Analyst at Digital TV Research, said: “There will be a wave of major SVOD platform launches in Latin America during 2021. Paramount+ will start in March, followed by HBO Max and Star+ in June. Discovery+ is also expected expand in the region.”

The report contrasts with a study published last week by Digital TV Research which estimated that the pay TV industry will struggle in the coming years.