Who is watching specialty streaming services?
Who is watching specialty streaming services?
Data from Antenna has more insight as to which demographic groups are watching specialty streaming services most actively.
Specialty streaming services are having their moment. Services like BET+, BritBox, and Lifetime Movie Club that focus on a particular programming subset — often niche genres or content made specifically for individual cultural groups — have experienced a sustained growth in viewership in recent years. But which viewers are actually tuning into these services? New data from Antenna tells the tale of which demographic groups are watching specialty streamers most often.
Key Details:
- Growing steadily: Special-interest streaming services account for 28% of all non-premium streaming subscriptions as of Q2 2025.
- British Invasion: Older viewers tend to gravitate toward specialty streamers more, especially British TV-themed services.
- Diverse audiences: Black and Hispanic viewers over-index subscriptions to the Special Interest: Other sub-category of streamers in Antenna’s data.
The data from Antenna shows that in the second quarter of 2025, 28% of all subscriptions to platforms not included in the category of premium streaming services like Netflix, HBO Max, and Paramount+ were for specialty streamers. Antenna breaks down the category of specialty streamers into three sub-categories: British, Kids & Family, and Other. Fifteen percent of all subscriptions to specialty streamers belong to the Other category; 7% to British; and 6% to news and family.
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When zooming in on the demographic data of specialty streaming services, older viewers tend to make up a larger percentage of the audience across essentially all categories. Viewers age 55+ were particularly likely to watch British streamers like Acorn TV or BritBox; this sub-category skews 18+ points in the 55+ age group. Sports streaming services overperformed among viewers 35 to 54, but under-indexed with younger subscribers.
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The proof that older viewers are enthusiastic about specialty streaming services could be good news for all streamers. Older viewers have traditionally resisted streaming, but special-interest services could serve as a gateway into the larger streaming universe for subscribers 55+.
When examining the data from a perspective of ethnic groups, Antenna’s numbers show that viewers most interested in British streamers tend to skew White, while the Other category (including streamers like ALLBLK and ViX Premium) skews -17 points in that group. Other sees overperformance among Black viewers (+13 points) and Hispanic viewers (+6 points) as compared to the general population.
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Viewing the Antenna data through a lens of income, the Other and Premium Scripted sub-categories of streaming services are more popular in homes that make less than $50,000 per year as compared to the general population. On the other side of the spectrum, British streaming shows skew three points higher than the average population among homes with a $200,000 income annually.
There’s plenty of data to indicate where younger viewers are spending their time: platforms like YouTube and TikTok. But Antenna’s data does a good job of demonstrating what older audiences are watching, and how they are engaging more frequently with specialty streaming services than other types of programming.
BritBox
BritBox is a hub for hundreds of TV shows and films produced in the UK. Enjoy your favorite classics like Doctor Who (1963) and Mr. Bean (1990), new original series like Sticks and Stones (2019) and There She Goes (2018), and watch special live events, tune into premieres, and keep up to date with current affairs and soap operas streaming direct from the UK. Oftentimes programming that premieres in the UK can be viewed internationally at the same time via the service.