Audiences are watching less traditional TV, but as they turn to online video, they are offered many diverse ways to engage with content. So much so that it’s difficult to compare Broadcaster video-on-demand (BVOD) to YouTube, or YouTube to Instagram. However, these behaviors all share the fact that they happen in proprietary environments; something broadcasters have well understood, and are increasing their efforts to harness. Monthly active users are one metric that can reflect this advancement. The map is made to reflect the platform that dominates in each country, irrespective of the penetration of digital video consumption. From the get-go, we can see YouTube (in red) dominating each Western European market, with reach upwards of 50%, even 75% of the population. Countries with lower video consumption appear bright red, as YouTube is left with few rivals. This is notably the case of DACH, with public broadcasters still most relevant on linear TV. Joyn is starting to drive commercial AVOD, achieving impressive growth both in Germany and Austria since 2024. On the contrary, Nordic countries achieved high BVOD take-up early on thanks to proactive public broadcasters, although most of them hit the ceiling since the pandemic. Benefiting from a solid SVOD acceptance, commercial broadcasters have favored subscription or hybrid models, with AVOD MAUs only reflecting a fraction of their digital footprint. Finland’s Ruutu is an exception, achieving strong engagement, while the country records one of the lowest YouTube penetrations in Western Europe. France exhibits a pretty balanced and competitive landscape: france.tv and TF1+ are head-to-head, with over half the population using them monthly, although with lower advertising ARPUs than in neighboring countries. Mediaset Infinity is also gaining ground in Italy. The conglomerate is betting its platform could also dominate in Spain as a replacement for Mitele, a country where BVOD lies at a moderate level and is split across actors.
