What They Say
Digital TV Research forecast that while SVOD subscriptions will more than triple globally from 491 million in 2021 to 1.64 billion in 2026, the dominance of China and the US will decline from a combined 56% to 46% as other regions develop. Disney+ is forecast to be the biggest winner, growing to 284.2 million subscribers in 2026 and passing Netflix in 2025. About 121 million of Disney+’ subscribers (43% of its total) in 2026 will be in the 13 Asian countries under the Hotstar brand. Netflix will grow by 53 million to 271 million over the period, but at a slower rate than Apple.
Simon Murray, Principal Analyst at Digital TV Research, said:
“China and the US had a similar number of subscriptions by end-2020. Due to government pressure, China’s growth is decelerating, with 354 million subscriptions expected by 2026. The US will continue to grow, with 450 million subscriptions expected by 2026.
What We Think
I must say that I think it’s very brave to make this kind of forecast about particular brands. So much can change in five years in the content industry. Could we have imagined the 2021 scene back in 2016? I don’t think so. Still, but 2026, I doubt that many will remember the forecast 🙂 (BR)
