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The unscripted advantage: Netflix is well ahead of other streaming platforms, used by 59% of US adults, dominating in total viewership for subscription OTT platforms, and leading in ad revenue growth.

Over the past nine quarters, 71% of net new subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) subscribers have come from ad-supported plans. Ad-supported subscriptions now account for 57% of Q1 2025 gross subscriber additions, down just 1 percentage point from last year’s NFL-driven spike.

New forecasts for US Amazon CTV ad revenues and ad-supported viewers for select streaming services.

The impact of increasing subscription costs is starting to show: Subscription OTT video viewers are growing at a slower rate than FAST viewers. Linear is continuing a steady decline, with viewership falling across all age groups, sans those 65 and older.

Click here to view our full forecast for digital video viewers in China or subscription OTT video viewers in China. Behind the Numbers.

Subscription video-on-demand rose from 62% to 69%, a promising sign for Prime Video ahead of its NBA media rights debut next season. We forecast US digital live sports viewers to surpass 121 million next year. These patterns aid in explaining why, despite a sharp increase in digital engagement, the NBA's traditional ratings declined.

The Walt Disney Co. will receive just under $10 billion from Disney+, ESPN+, and Hulu’s subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) product combined. And Hulu + Live TV will bring an additional $4.46 billion in subscription revenues. To improve profits, streaming services keep raising prices and restricting password-sharing. These tactics have become common.

In addition to linear TV, sizable audiences tune in to AVOD and subscription VOD (SVOD) platforms, also known as OTT services. Device choice is also increasing, which is reflected by the growing number of CTVs in the home and their use via smartphones. More than 4 in 5 digital video viewers watched CTV on a smartphone, likely in addition to watching on other devices.

Paramount is elevating its streaming offerings, with Paramount+ now ranking as a top three SVOD service for original series hours watched domestically. Paramount’s merger with Skydance is still expected to close in the first half of 2025—a move that aims to transform the struggling streaming service into a viable revenue stream.

Subscription OTT. As traditional TV viewership continues to wane, subscription-based streaming platforms will emerge as the predominant mode for consuming TV content. Traditional TV has an older, more dedicated audience, which boosts its time spent. But subscription OTT (sub OTT) platforms will have 22 million more monthly viewers this year, per our forecasts.

At the same time, use of subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) and ad-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) increased: Gen Zers watched an average of 56 minutes per day in 2023, up from 53 minutes in 2022 and well ahead of all other age cohorts. Video-sharing platforms are the new video viewing destination.

Ad dollars are flooding into subscription OTT (sub OTT) streaming, but not as fast as consumers are. The medium features low ad revenues and high time spent—the biggest gap of any digital media category we track. Sub OTT will claim only 3.7% of the digital ad market this year, far from its 22.9% time spent share. Advertisers may be overinvested in mobile and underinvested in other media access points.

Broadcaster (BVOD), ad-supported (AVOD), and subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) will jostle for position. There will likely be some give-and-take across these services, as consumers deal with economic factors and come to grips with the volume of TV-like content available to them in various ways. Sources. Accel. Accenture. Adyen. Coleman Parkes Research. Dealroom.co. Google Cloud. IZEA.

32% of US adults are watching subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) services less because they are watching more on free streaming services, per a July 2023 Aluma Insights survey. For 34% of US adults, viewing behaviors across streaming services haven’t changed as a result of free streaming services.

In part one of this two-part podcast episode, we discuss some predictions for 2024 that are too specific to be 100% certain about but could still come true, including: which subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) platform Apple will likely buy, where metaverse playgrounds will spring up, and what the ruling between Google and the US Department of Justice will be. Tune in to the discussion with our vice presidents of content Suzy Davidkhanian and Paul Verna and analyst Max Willens.

Ad-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) services will gain more than triple the US viewers that subscription OTT video will this year, per our forecast. AVOD will add 13.3 million viewers, including 4.3 million from free premium platforms, for a total of 157.1 million. Meanwhile, subscription OTT services will gain 4.3 million viewers to reach 222.2 million.

And adults in the West generally engage more heavily with long-form content, including higher penetration of subscription OTT (sub OTT) streaming services, which also drives daily media minutes. High car ownership and more dispersed populations have contributed to more radio hours in the West. And tradition and trust have led adults in France and Germany to spend more time with print media.

Apple’s Prime Video deal draws the lines of power in streaming: Growth in SVOD is slowing significantly, leaving services little choice but to piggyback off larger platforms.

The average US household only subscribes to about four subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) services, and while bigger platforms could be insulated in upcoming quarters, smaller platforms with less content diversity could lose viewers and ad dollars.

Among digital activities, subscription OTT (sub OTT), social networks, and digital audio take up the most time. Sub OTT and free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) are among the few activities still seeing meaningful annual growth in time spent. Most others will be stagnant or even decline. For active users of specific formats, traditional TV (4:01) remains the most popular, followed by sub OTT (2:43).