Western Europe set to continue SVOD growth

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Western Europe is set to approach a quarter of a billion SVOD subscribers in the coming years.

According to the latest figures from Digital TV Research, the region will have 238 million SVOD subscriptions by 2027, up from 165 million at the end of 2021. The report notes that six US-based platforms will account for 81% of all SVOD subscriptions in the region.

Netflix will remain the largest, but will only add 3 million from 2021 for a total of 62 million subscribers. As a result, Netflix’s market share will fall from 36% in 2021 to 26% by 2027.

Disney+ meanwhile will almost double its current base to reach 46 million subscribers by 2027. The newcomer Paramount+/SkyShowtime will add 11 million subscribers and HBO Max will bring in an extra 5 million.

In terms of SVOD revenues, the region will be at US$25 billion by 2027, up from US$16 billion in 2021. The UK will continue to be the largest revenue-generating country in Western Europe.

Simon Murray, principal analyst at Digital TV Research, said: “Netflix will slowly lose SVOD revenues as we assume that it will convert its cheapest tier to a lower-priced hybrid AVOD-SVOD tier. Any SVOD revenue shortfall will be more than covered by its AVOD revenues. Netflix will remain the SVOD revenue winner, although its share of the total will fall from nearly half in 2021 to a third in 2027.

“We do not expect many more price rises due to the intense competition. We assume that Disney+ will follow its US example by converting its present tier to a hybrid AVOD-SVOD one and charging more for an SVOD-only tier.”