Eastern Europe to See SVOD Growth

The number of SVOD subscribers in Eastern Europe is expected to hit 43 million by 2027, up from 23 million at the end of last year, according to Digital TV Research.

Netflix will remain the biggest operator in the region with 8.2 million subs by 2027, followed in a distant second by Disney+ with 4.7 million and Amazon at 4 million. HBO Max is forecast to hit 3.1 million and SkyShowtime 2.9 million.

Meanwhile, Poland is set to become the SVOD market leader in 2026. Russia and Poland will account for 64 percent of SVOD subs in Eastern Europe by 2027, down from 79 percent in 2021. Western SVOD platforms have withdrawn from Russia in the wake of the Ukraine invasion, but subs losses have been minimal, Digital TV Research maintains.

“We assume that Russia will withdraw from Ukraine before end-2022,” said Simon Murray, principal analyst. “After the Russian withdrawal, we expect massive investment in Ukraine by Western companies/governments as well as most refugees returning home eventually. It will take some time to rebuild the economy and for homes to spend on entertainment.”

Digital TV Research also reports that Eastern European pay-TV subs will fall from a peak of 82 million in 2018 to 74 million in 2027. “Russia will account for half of the region’s pay-TV subscribers in 2027,” Murray said. “However, Russia will lose 5 million pay-TV subscribers between 2021 and 2027 partly as sanctions worsen the economic situation and due to some analog cable homes converting to FTA DTT.”