SVOD subscriptions to surpass 1.6 billion within five years

Global SVOD subscriptions are set to increase by almost half a billion over the coming years.

According to Digital TV Research, the number of SVOD subscriptions will increase by 491 million between 2021 and 2026 to reach 1.64 billion.

Of that total, China and the US will account for almost half (49%) the total by 2026, down from 56% in 2021. 

Three streamers are set to dominate the global space. The report asserts that Disney – with its services such as Disney+, Hulu and Hotstar – will overtake Netflix in 2025. Disney+ will add 140 million subscribers in the next five years to amass a total of 284.2 million. Some 121 million of that total will fall under the Hotstar banner in 13 Asian countries.

Netflix meanwhile will add 53 million subscribers to reach 271 million subscribers by 2026. Amazon Prime Video meanwhile will be the third largest with 243.4 million subs, and HBO will have 76.3 million. 

Services from China will be subscribed to by over 350 million users. Of those, Tencent will be the largest with 98.7 million, followed by iQiyi (76.8 million) and Youku (48.1 million).

Simon Murray, principal analyst at Digital TV Research, said: “China and the US had a similar number of subscriptions by end-2020. Due to government pressure, China’s growth is decelerating, with 354 million subscriptions expected by 2026. The US will continue to grow, with 450 million subscriptions expected by 2026.