The number of SVOD subscriptions in Western Europe will reach 234 million by 2026.
This, according to the latest report published by Digital TV Research, will be up from 137 million at the end of 2020.
Despite losing market share, Netflix will remain the largest SVOD platform, with 74 million paying subscribers by 2026 – up by 20 million on 2020.
Disney+ will become the second largest platform in 2025. Now available in most Western European countries, it will have 55 million paying subscribers by 2026, up by 36 million on 2020.
HBO Max will launch in the six countries where it already has operations – the Nordic countries, Portugal and Spain – before the end of 2021. However, HBO Max will not start in some key European countries due to existing exclusive contracts. For example, HBO’s contract with Sky in Austria, Germany, Ireland, Italy and the UK lasts until 2025.
Commenting on the findings of the report, Simon Murray, principal analyst at Digital TV Research, said: “If HBO Max started across the region’s 18 countries in 2021, we estimate that it would amass 10 million subscribers by 2026. This will not happen, so its total will be 3.3 million across six countries by 2026″.
For more information on the Western Europe OTT TV & Video Forecasts report, please contact: Simon Murray, simon@digitaltvresearch.com, Tel: +44 20 8248 5051
