U.S. OTT Market Nears Maturity

Growth in the U.S. OTT sector has slowed dramatically, Digital TV Research notes, particularly in the SVOD space, which is set to add just $2 billion from this year to reach TV episode and movie revenues of $55 billion in 2029.

SVOD revenues this year are projected to be $52.5 billion, rising to $53.5 billion next year. AVOD revenues, meanwhile, are forecast to rise from $15.6 billion this year to $21.6 billion in 2029, of which $6.5 billion will come from FAST, up from $4.3 billion this year. Overall revenues from TV episodes and movies on OTT are set to rise from $74 billion this year to $82 billion in 2029.

Simon Murray, principal analyst at Digital TV Research, said: “These forecasts reflect the new reality. Subscriptions are stuttering as the market matures and consolidates. Advertising growth will be lower than our previous forecasts due to tougher market conditions and greater caution from the platforms. Platforms are more wary about increasing content spend which will stifle subscriber development.”