Growth in OTT volumes continued to slow down: 2025 brought in 15 Million new subscriptions, against 25 Million a year prior. 2024 had seen an uplift in the reach of SVOD with, for the first time in 4 years, more new households paying for a service. This recovery coincides with the roll-out of ad-tiers, but is also a cyclical, macro-related recovery. 2025 realigns with the main trajectory, where less than 1 in 3 additional subscriptions was due to signing up a new household, and 72% of the subscription growth stemmed from service stacking. Last year’s figures moderate the optics of SVOD growth in Europe, notably since part of it came from telecom wholesale deals (including RTL+, SkyShowtime), and Pay-TV types of OTT subscriptions (about a third of 2025’s net ads). Take-up indicators remain mixed in Top 5 markets, while Central and Eastern Europe is seemingly not going to catch up with the penetration and stacking levels of its Western counterpart just yet. As a result of this decelerating trend, we can view advertising-supported tiers not only as a way to expand SVOD to price conscious households, get back churners with new offers, or ease distribution deals with partners. It is also a way for the streamers to get exposure to an AVOD market that has swiftly taken over growth from subscription revenues. YouTube Premium and Crunchyroll, powerful players in the AVOD segment, have been outperforming the subscription market as well, and may offer a glimpse into the future of SVOD.
