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Nearly 86% of digital video viewers, or 69% of the population, will watch fee-based streaming services in 2025. Ad-free and ad-supported sub OTT viewership are both extremely widespread. Over 233 million people will regularly watch sub OTT video this year. Concurrently, 196.3 million people will be AVOD viewers.

Global cinema thrives: Record openings, strong international performance, and theatrical-streaming hybrids signal a box office comeback.

Lower consumer spending could still have an impact if subscribers decide to cancel add-ons like hotspot access or device insurance. And that鈥檚 already happening: 46% of US adults canceled or downgraded subscriptions in February to decrease their spending, per CivicScience.

Will AVOD, Price-Slashing, and Localized Content Keep the Streaming Giant in the Lead?

On today's episode, we discuss the significance of Netflix saying it has 5 million monthly active users on its ad tier, the biggest impacts of the new streaming service Max, and how much noise a combined Paramount+ and Showtime offering can make. "In Other News," we talk about the current state of esports and what the best connected TV (CTV) ad formats are. Tune in to the discussion with our director of Briefings Jeremy Goldman.

Netflix estimated in 2023 that more than 100 million households worldwide were sharing passwords, giving the company a long runway to convert formerly piggybacking users into subscribers. The WWE deal: Netflix鈥檚 first-ever subscriber loss came in spring 2022, forcing the company to opt out of billion-dollar bidding wars for streaming rights.

More subscribers equals more revenues. We project that Spotify Premium will boast 53.3 million paid US subscribers this year. By contrast, YouTube Premium (which includes YouTube Music Premium) will have 40.5 million, Apple Music will have 39.9 million, and Pandora will have 6.3 million.

The news: What shouldn鈥檛 get lost in the shuffle during Spotify鈥檚 earnings report this week was that the streaming giant has paid out over $100 million to podcasters and publishers worldwide since January. The payouts are fueled by the newly launched Partner Program, which incentivizes creators to upload video podcasts and boost engagement.

The move could also benefit Discord by giving users exposure to its subscription offering, streamlining the path to purchase by converting free users into paid subscribers once Nitro perks expire.

Workspace improvements: The Workspace suite added Workspace Flows for paid subscribers. It can deploy customized AI models (Gems), access files and data in Google Drive, and handle requests in plain language without any coding work from the user. Gems can complete specialized tasks like matching marketing copy to a brand鈥檚 voice, sorting customer service tickets, or reviewing policy documents.

The traditional TV bundle will further decay as more live sports embrace streaming.

We expect Netflix鈥檚 new ad-supported subscribers to watch the service somewhat less than the cohort paying full price. The same story will play out with Disney+: We expect its time spent to decline by 1.0% this year thanks to its less-engaged ad-supported viewers. Estimates for Hulu and the other sub OTT services were not affected by the writers strike.

Streaming apps have made the user experience seamless, allowing viewers to pick up where they left off on other devices and in other locations. YouTube is by far the most watched video platform. Its ad-supported content has made it a dominant platform in digital video advertising, accounting for a sizable chunk of Google鈥檚 business in Canada.

X also continues to offer early access to enhanced Grok features as a perk to some X Premium subscribers. In February, X rolled out a Grok-powered AI ad interface for SMBs, which automates ad creation and analyzes performance.

奥谤别蝉迟濒颈苍驳鈥檚 streaming success could reshape the sports media landscape. If Netflix can keep WWE fans engaged, other leagues may follow, accelerating the shift from linear TV to direct-to-consumer sports streaming.

Subscription OTT streaming is one of only a few media categories still seeing meaningful time spent growth in the US. The major platforms are heading in different directions, however.

Despite a crowded streaming field rife with advertising competition, Netflix鈥檚 record Q4 for subscriber growth and strong holiday performance solidified its place as a leader for premium streaming inventory. Its two Christmas Day NFL games were the most-streamed in the league鈥檚 history, and 鈥淪quid Game鈥� season 2 quickly became one of its biggest hits.

Given Netflix鈥檚 reach鈥攖he platform has over 300 million paid subscribers鈥攁dvertisers could tap into a massive audience and leverage tools more likely to convert listeners into buyers.

This is to be expected given that sub OTT streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+ still mainly rely on subscriber fees and are only cautiously opening up to advertising. Among media that is entirely ad-reliant, radio is by far the worst off in terms of its relationship between time spent and ad revenues. Within digital audio, podcasts face the same discrepancy.

It ranked as the most popular paid streaming service across all demographic cohorts and in each of the eight Latin American countries surveyed. Netflix鈥檚 vast library of local, regional, and international content keeps subscribers coming back for more. Local players fail to break into the top five paid streaming services.

How SiriusXM plans to compete with Spotify: After a failed music streaming venture, the company is reinvesting in its car business.

Streaming services are leaning more on advertising than they used to, resulting in increased overall ad spending but lower ad prices.