Julia Stoll
Research expert covering TV and video media
Subscription video-on-demand services in Europe - statistics & facts
Thanks to the success of subscription services, consumer spending on digital video in Europe has rapidly increased in recent years, growing by over 20 billion euros in the last decade. While video-on-demand subscriptions in Western Europe are expected to increase from 210 million in 2023 to 273 million in 2029, the revenue of SVOD in the Eastern part of the continent is also forecast to see further substantial growth in the upcoming years. This trend is driven by the accessibility of movies and TV series anytime, anywhere, and on any device, as well as by various new local and international launches in Europe.
Relatively new streaming services that first appeared in the U.S. are also continuing their expansion into Europe. Warner Bros. Discovery’s rebranded streaming service, Max, launched in May 2024 across 20 European countries, including content from HBO Max, Discovery+, and Eurosport. Another major player, Paramount+, has steadily gained momentum in the region. The SVOD business of the platform in Western Europe is projected to generate approximately 1.5 billion U.S. dollars in revenue in 2029, highlighting its growing presence.
Additionally, Streamz, a Flemish streaming provider from Telenet and DPG Media, is available in the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium since September 2020 and made up 15 percent of the total subscriber count in this region in 2023. In the UK, Comcast’s service Now is used by around two million households and domestic platforms RTL+ and Joyn+ in Germany continued to secure new paying customers in the last quarters.
Given this level of competition, not all operators will survive, and only a handful of providers will be dominating the European SVOD market soon. It is a matter of content, high-quality user experiences, outstanding brands, and usage and analysis of data to attract subscribers and hold in the long run.
Large U.S. businesses lead the European SVOD market
Since its expansion into the UK, Ireland, and Scandinavia in 2012, Netflix tops the streaming market in Europe. The giant holds the highest market share among SVOD services in several European countries. In the Nordics, for instance, Netflix had a market share of 25 percent in 2023, making it the largest SVOD service in the region. By and by, other big U.S. entertainment and technology businesses have established themselves with their streaming platforms in the European SVOD market: Amazon with Prime Video, Apple with Apple TV+, and Walt Disney with Disney+, to only name a few.Relatively new streaming services that first appeared in the U.S. are also continuing their expansion into Europe. Warner Bros. Discovery’s rebranded streaming service, Max, launched in May 2024 across 20 European countries, including content from HBO Max, Discovery+, and Eurosport. Another major player, Paramount+, has steadily gained momentum in the region. The SVOD business of the platform in Western Europe is projected to generate approximately 1.5 billion U.S. dollars in revenue in 2029, highlighting its growing presence.
Local players
However, streaming services from local enterprises are in no way inferior to international ones. For example, the existing offering of the most successful Swedish online video platform Viaplay has even been extended into other European countries, such as the Baltics and other Nordic regions, with the platform reaching around 6.3 million subscribers in the third quarter of 2024.Additionally, Streamz, a Flemish streaming provider from Telenet and DPG Media, is available in the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium since September 2020 and made up 15 percent of the total subscriber count in this region in 2023. In the UK, Comcast’s service Now is used by around two million households and domestic platforms RTL+ and Joyn+ in Germany continued to secure new paying customers in the last quarters.
Given this level of competition, not all operators will survive, and only a handful of providers will be dominating the European SVOD market soon. It is a matter of content, high-quality user experiences, outstanding brands, and usage and analysis of data to attract subscribers and hold in the long run.
