Growth in global SVOD catalogues slowed sharply in Q4 2025 despite double-digit gains in FAST channels and sports programming, according to the latest Gracenote Data Hub update.
Across the five leading global SVOD platforms, the total number of unique programmes (excluding episodes) reached 105,200 in Q4, up 2.3% quarter-on-quarter, compared with a 9.7% jump in Q3. Total catalogue volume climbed 2.7% to 662,300 titles. Amazon Prime Video retains by far the largest footprint, accounting for 69% of the combined distribution across the big five.
Sports remains the key battleground. Overall sports programming on the five services grew 10% in Q4 to just under 18,000 titles, with Disney+ increasing its sports offer by 29% since Q3 and now commanding 33.2% of sports content among the group – less than 1 percentage point behind Amazon. Drama continues as the dominant genre at just under a quarter of all programmes, while “tense” is still the most common mood tag, attached to more than 36% of titles.
The data also points to a broadening of the long tail. Pre-1990 programming across the five SVODs is up 21.5% in 2025, while content produced from 2020 onwards has risen 25.4%, underlining both the continued push into fresh originals and deeper exploitation of catalogue. However, the proportion of exclusive programming on Paramount+ has fallen by almost 8% since Q1 2025, leaving it with the lowest exclusivity share of the group at 60%.
FAST services showed far stronger momentum. The total number of FAST channels tracked by Gracenote rose 8.9% in Q4 to 2,012. Canada led the way with a 29.1% quarter-on-quarter jump, overtaking most markets to become the fourth-largest FAST territory, now just three channels behind Germany. Channel counts were also up 12.4% in Germany, 6.5% in the UK and 5.9% in the US.
Programming on FAST channels reached 35,300 unique programmes in Q4, up 3.7% on Q3, with total programme volume increasing 2.3% to 201,700. Sports again stood out, with a 20.4% rise in sports programming at the episode or competition level and a 17.5% increase at the series or programme level – well ahead of SVOD sports growth. Action, horror and nature content all posted double-digit gains, while romance and westerns declined, suggesting FAST operators are leaning into higher-impact genres as the market matures.
