For the first time, online video revenues also surpassed those of pay TV. Despite this strong performance, the research firm expects growth to slow in 2026.
Global subscriptions to online video services reached 2.24 billion by the end of 2025, marking a 17.6% year-over-year increase from the 1.9 billion recorded in 2024, according to a new report from Omdia.
Despite this strong performance, the firm forecasts a slowdown in growth during 2026 as major markets approach maturity and platforms increasingly shift their focus toward profitability.
Meanwhile, global pay TV subscriptions continued their downward trend, declining 1.8% year over year to 1.03 billion. As a result, online video now accounts for 68.4% of the combined 3.3 billion subscriptions across both segments worldwide.
For the first time, online video revenues also exceeded those of pay TV. According to Omdia, online video revenues grew 13.5% in 2025 to reach US$176 billion, while pay TV revenues fell 4% to US$170 billion. The figures include subscription and transactional revenues but exclude advertising income.
The company attributes much of the subscription growth to the expansion of ad-supported, lower-priced plans, driven by partnerships with telecommunications operators and pay TV providers.
“Subscription growth of 17.6% in 2025 was the highest recorded since 2021. This increase was primarily driven by subsidized ad-supported plans promoted by telecom operators and pay TV providers,” said Adam Thomas, Practice Leader for Media, Entertainment & Advertising at Omdia.
However, the research firm notes that platforms are beginning to shift their focus from subscriber acquisition to maximizing revenue per subscriber, particularly through price increases on premium ad-free tiers.
In this context, Omdia believes the boost generated by ad-supported plans will have a limited lifespan. While these offerings helped attract more price-sensitive consumers throughout 2025, the company maintains its forecast of more moderate growth in the years ahead.
“It is clear that the availability of attractively priced ad-supported options created a temporary boost in SVOD subscriber growth during 2025. However, this does not alter our long-term outlook, which continues to point toward low single-digit annual growth rates in the coming years,” said Tony Gunnarsson, Senior Principal Analyst for TV & Online Video at Omdia.
According to the firm’s projections, global online video subscription growth will slow to 5.6% in 2026, reflecting an increasingly competitive market and growing saturation across several key regions.
