Streaming Set to Overtake Pay TV Globally by 2025

The video streaming industry is reaching globally. This year marks the first time that streaming video is projected to generate more revenue USD 213 billion than pay TV, which is expected to bring in USD 188 billion.

Each of the leading subscription streaming services has created an advertising tier, and that push towards the free world will continue. Growth is going to be from being more like television in distribution, in pricing, and to a great extent, even in programming.

As these pay-TV-like advertising tiers, their much-publicised sports events, and bundled distribution grow, all of the five major US streamers like Netflix, Disney+, Paramount+, Amazon Prime Video and Max are beginning "to look like pay TV 2.0," says Tony Gunnarsson, senior principal analyst, television video and advertising for London-based, Omdia, a global analyst and advisory firm.

Its latest, ‘2025 Trends to Watch’ report states that the streaming wars are over, advertising is in and standalone subscription video on demand bundles will be the new reality.

Gunnarsson stated, ”These global trends won't be directly replicated in India. According to our forecast, pay-TV will not only remain the dominant sector for revenues through the late 2020s but they may also grow over the foreseeable period.”

The report details the growing ‘linearisation’ of streaming in 2025. The big five will collectively have 818 million paid subscriptions worldwide, with nearly 250 million or 30 percent of those coming from ad-supported tiers.

Last year, 24 percent of SVoD revenues in the U.S. came from ad-supported tiers. All entry-level SVoD subscriptions now include ads, and the report suggests that consumer tolerance for advertising is expected to grow.

The expansion of pay OTT services suggests that in new markets, major global platforms are unlikely to launch direct-to-consumer services. Instead, they will prefer to collaborate with local providers, including pay-TV networks or streaming platforms. For example, HBO’s Max has not yet launched in India. Considering the ad-driven nature of the Indian market, a similar trend is expected to unfold there as well.

Further, “The industry has somehow lost sight of customer needs. In the West, direct-to-consumer doesn’t really help anyone. What does work is greater bundling and packaging of services for customers. Until this (streaming) looks and feels like pay-TV used to be, it will be cut-throat for everyone,” Gunnarsson adds.