Online Video Subs to Hit 1.7 Billion in 2023

Despite cost-of-living concerns and intensifying competition, online video subscriptions will continue to rise this year, per Omdia, growing to 1.7 billion.

“Moving on from the impact of Covid, the introduction of the ad tiers and an abundance of new content has meant that 2023 will be an important year for growth in SVOD and its subscribers,” said Maria Rua Aguete, senior director in Omdia’s media and entertainment practice.

“2020 was a boom year for online video streaming, due to the pandemic and subsequent outdoor limitations, which resulted in more than 300 million new global subscription online video services,” Rua Aguete continued. “SVOD has grown at one of the fastest rates on record. In fact, in absolute terms, 2020 added more subscribers to the video-on-demand industry than at any other point in history and most likely, at any point to come.”

On the heels of Covid gains, 2023 will be a year of “industry-wide cooling,” Omdia noted. The introduction of ad tiers should help the global giants continue to grow their businesses, with Omdia projecting the addition of 143 million new subscriptions this year, about half of what was added in 2020. In the U.S., home to a mature SVOD market, there will still be almost 40 million new SVOD subscriptions.

“The biggest battle services will face is the continuing rise in prices, which may scare customers and could slow down growth,” Rua Aguete added. “Thanks to the introduction of advertising tiers, SVOD players like Netflix could still grow in already saturated subscription markets such as the U.S. but also acquire subscribers in LatAm or AsiaPac, where price was considered a reason not to subscribe. We expect 14 percent of all the subscriber growth in 2023 will come from LatAm.”