Streaming in adulthood: slower growth, but the challenge is won by 'events'
Antenna's numbers: in 2025, subscriptions to premium svod services in the US grow by single digits for the first time (+7%). And new subscribers down 33%
The premium streaming market is no longer the Wild West. In 2025, the premium Svod (video-on-demand with subscriptions) category in the US (ten platforms tracked, from Netflix to Disney+, from Hbo Max to Paramount+) stops double-digit growth and enters the maturity phase: year-on-year subscription growth drops to +7%, compared to +12% in 2024. Broken down into figures: 18 million new subscriptions YoY at the end of Q4 2025, down 33% from 27 million the previous year.
It is a slowdown that, however, perhaps smacks more of settling than of crisis that is indicated by the figures released by the Antenna company and relating to the on-demand streaming market in the United States, contained in the report 'State of Subscriptions Report: Premium SVOD 2025 Year In Review'.
In short: as the race slows down, the system becomes more predictable. The industry's weighted average churn (churn rate) closes December 2025 at 4.6%, slightly better than the 4.8% in December 2024. And, most importantly, volatility eases: from September 2024 to August 2025, churn was 'flat or lower' in 7 out of 11 months compared to the same month a year earlier.
The 'streaming war'
In the phase of the 'streaming wars', the objective was to make noise: brand awareness, launch of new platforms, promises of endless catalogues. Today, the logic is different: services focus their acquisition on a few high resonance peaks, when they can 'pierce' the audience's attention threshold with a message and an offer that is difficult to ignore.
The new centre of gravity is the last quarter. In 2025, the fourth quarter is worth 31% of annual Gross Adds and even 57% of Net Adds.
