Digital Video Subs to Hit 3.5 Billion by 2026

The number of digital video subscriptions worldwide will reach 3.5 billion by 2028, per a new study from Juniper Research, a 14 percent gain from the 3.1 billion subs this year.

Subscription fatigue is the reason for the slow rate of growth, Juniper said. In developed markets, most homes pay for at least one subscription and are unwilling to take on more. Bundling is an effective strategy for combatting stacking fatigue.

Emerging markets are key to sustaining subscription gains, but they require local content and telco partnerships, the report notes. “Due to the expansion of high-speed and low-cost Internet, emerging markets represent a significant growth opportunity for video streaming platforms. This is being complemented by the increasing affordability of smartphones and the development of cheap, mobile-only video streaming subscriptions, lowering the financial barrier to entry for consumers in these regions. To realize this, video streaming services must partner with local telcos to bundle their products together, allowing video streaming services to proliferate in countries with smaller banked populations.”