As more and more consumers cut the cord, a recent report from Digital TV Research predicts that subscription video on demand (SVOD) memberships will grow by 485 million worldwide between 2021 and 2027. This figure will bring the total global number of streaming subscriptions to 1.69 billion. The research suggests that six U.S.-based services will have accumulated 988 million paying members by 2027, having started out at 612 million in 2021.
Despite the expected rise across the board, things are not looking as optimistic for the world’s largest streamer. The data indicates that Netflix will have gained 31 million subscribers worldwide between 2021 and 2027, although its North American losses will amount to at least 4 million.
“Our Netflix forecasts for 2027 are 29 million lower than our February update – at 253 million,” said Simon Murray, Principal Analyst at Digital TV Research. “Netflix needs to boost its content to counter its fresher and cheaper rivals.”
Additionally, it is projected that Disney+ will gain 144 million subscriptions from 2021 to 2027, completely overtaking Netflix by 2025. These numbers mean that Disney’s streaming service will have a total of 274 million members within the next six years.
As Hulu is not widely available outside of the U.S., Disney offers the majority of its Hulu library through alternative services called Star in Europe and Hotstar throughout Asia. It is projected that Hotstar will become available in 13 additional Asian countries by 2027, bringing 114 million new subscribers to the platform. This figure would equate to 42% of Disney+’s global subscriber count, although only $1.58 billion (11%) of the company’s $14.7 billion revenue by 2027.
Despite losing its place at the top, Netflix will continue to dominate in terms of revenue. The company’s earnings will amount to $34 billion by 2027. To put it into perspective, that number is close to the current revenue of Disney+, HBO Max, and Paramount+ combined. While it is impressive, the Netflix total will only have grown by $4 billion from 2021 to 2027 due to a continued loss of subscribers.
This anticipated rise in streaming subscriptions is in line with previous reports that have indicated that despite major losses for Netflix, SVOD memberships are increasing overall.
Netflix is currently trying a variety of different options to slow its membership losses from preparing to offer an ad-supported plan, cracking down on password sharing, and expanding abroad. With the constant changes in the industry, it stands to reason that the streaming landscape could look very different by 2027.