LONDON—The popularity of streaming isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, according to Digital TV Research. The company’s latest report projects that by 2026, there will be 1.495 billion SVOD subscriptions across 138 countries.
Global SVOD subscriptions will grow by 591 million between 2020 and 2026, per Digital TV Research’s projection. 2020 will represent the peak year, with the addition of 201 million subscriptions. Global subscription numbers will cross the 1 billion mark in 2021.
The 1.495 billion subscription number in 2026 would represent a 65% increase from 2020, Digital TV Research notes.
The statistics point out that the number of SVOD subscriptions are growing at a faster rate than the number of SVOD subscribers, meaning that the growth is being spurred by subscribers adding additional services. In 2020, the average number of subscriptions a SVOD subscriber had was 1.74; by 2026 that number is projected to reach 2.14.
Per Digital TV Research principal analyst Simon Murray, there will be 718 million SVOD subscribers in 2026, up 35% from 518 million at the end of 2020. The 2026 total would represent 39% of all TV households.
As far as who is leading the way in SVOD subscriptions, the U.S. is expected to surpass China in 2021 as the subscription leader. Together, the U.S. and China will make up 48% of the global total in 2026, however this is down from 59% in 2020. Other countries eating into the U.S. and China’s streaming dominance include India, which is estimated to nearly triple its SVOD subscriptions to 155 million in 2026; that would be about 10% of the world’s total.
For more information, visit Digital TV Research’s website.
