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Why it matters: Amazon鈥檚 NBA acquisition is part of a broader strategy to use live sports to expand Prime Video鈥檚 appeal, especially among cord-cutters who retain pay TV subscriptions for this content (see chart). The NBA deal cements Amazon鈥檚 role in premium sports streaming. As traditional TV continues to decline, Amazon is positioning itself as a long-term home for live sports content.

Disney鈥檚 password-sharing changes didn鈥檛 boost subscriptions鈥攜et: The company saw a slight dip in Disney+ subs as it faced a tough holiday period.

Comcast gives details on its spinout of several NBCU cable networks: As Peacock takes center stage, legacy TV networks must adapt to stay relevant.

Netflix is the leading subscription-based platform, although it launched an ad-supported tier in late 2022. Following Netflix鈥檚 lead in both ad-supported and subscription-based video are Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Apple TV+, and Crave from Bell Media. Crave鈥攚hich is home to HBO Max content in Canada鈥攊s a homegrown service and has gained more than 1 million subscribers since 2020.

As the CTV advertising opportunity expands, marketers must consider how quickly subscription streaming services are replacing ad-free viewers with ad-supported ones when deciding where to allocate budget. Sources. Antenna. Business Insider. MediaRadar. Nielsen.

Digital Video Forecast and Trends Q1 2025 (蘑菇AV subscription required). US Sports Streaming 2024(蘑菇AV subscription required).

Several years of experience under its belt with a noteworthy tech partner will help set the company up for ad dominance, and a strong consumer appetite for ad-supported subscriptions continues to increase its viewer count.

Subscription OTT鈥檚 (sub OTT鈥檚) unique evolution has created a major skew between ad spending and time spent. Until recently, advertisers couldn鈥檛 access many of the largest sub OTT platforms. This history has led to the widest gulf among digital media categories, with low ad revenues and high time spent.

With most of the US already watching, growth in overall OTT viewership has slowed to a crawl. But some platforms, formats, and service tiers are still booming, and digital pay TV is complicating the linear TV narrative.

Only 33% of Indian sports fans use subscription streaming services, suggesting strong upside potential as the market continues its digital transformation. The Indian streaming landscape has 219.3 million viewers watching ad-supported content exclusively, while only 39.3 million maintain their own paid subscriptions (as opposed to sharing an account with friends or family).

Netflix and YouTube are siphoning subscription revenues from pay TV鈥檚 losses. By the end of 2025, more than half of US video subscription revenues will go to streaming services.

Advertisers and tech vendors look to capitalize on CTV鈥檚 growing importance in digital advertising.

This article is part of 蘑菇AV鈥檚 client-only subscription Briefings鈥攄aily newsletters authored by industry analysts who are experts in marketing, advertising, media, and tech trends. To help you finish 2024 strong and start 2025 off on the right foot, articles like this one鈥攄elivering the latest news and insights鈥攁re completely free through January 31, 2025.

US subscription over-the-top video viewers will grow just 1.9% this year, per our forecast, reflecting a market where companies will fight over inches rather than miles. At the same time, consumers report frustration with the rising cost of subscription video: A July Hub Research survey found that US adults spend $82 monthly on streaming subscriptions and are only willing to pay up to $87.

This is the first installment of our quarterly 鈥淎d Spending Benchmarks鈥� series, which helps ad buyers and sellers calibrate their spending and revenue mix against the market.

In 2024, traditional TV accounted for less than half of US total video subscription revenues for the first time. Its share of video subscription revenues will slip to about one-third by the end of our forecast in 2028.

Streamers have pushed consumers toward ad-supported tiers by increasing costs for ad-free subscriptions and bundling with other services, making these tiers the default access point for streaming content. While those efforts initially annoyed users, demand for lower-cost entertainment and a growing tolerance for streaming ads has reduced their negative impact.