Streaming Year in Review 2025

Legacy media giants like Warner Bros. Discovery, Disney, and Paramount have transitioned to profitability in their streaming operations after years of losses. Amongst other tactics, Disney introduced Ad-Supported Tiers where over 50% of new Disney+ subscribers opt for ad-supported plans, contributing to a $321M Q4 2024 streaming profit. Global streaming revenue projected to reach $510B by 2040.

Advertising has emerged as the primary revenue driver, surpassing subscription models:

FAST Growth:

Free Ad-Supported TV (FAST) platforms like The Roku Channel (83.4M U.S. viewers) and Tubi (74.6M) now rival traditional TV in reach.

Ad Revenue Surge:

By 2029, online video advertising is forecast to generate $362B globally dwarfing SVOD ($185B) and premium AVOD ($141B).

CTV Efficiency:

Programmatic CTV ad buys are 38% more cost-effective than direct publisher deals, with innovations like AI-driven dynamic creatives boosting ROAS by 39%.

This shift is fueled by viewer tolerance for ads - 60% of pay-TV users accept ad-supported models.

Subscription fatigue has triggered industry consolidation:

Declining Stacking:

U.S. households now average 4 SVOD services, down from a 2024 peak, as prices strain budgets.

Mergers & Shutdowns:

Paramount’s merger with Skydance Media and Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max expansion exemplify consolidation. Analysts predict second-tier services like Peacock or Max may cease as standalones by 2026.

Aggregation Models:

Companies like Comcast are bundling services (e.g., SpinCo) to mimic traditional pay-TV simplicity, reducing churn and operational costs.

Asia-Pacific markets are critical for growth:

India’s Boom:

With 101M paid subscribers and 58 regional OTT platforms, India is the fastest-growing market. 

Localized Content:

Warner Bros. Discovery’s Hyderabad hub and Disney’s regional investments highlight the demand for culturally tailored programming.

Live sports are now a linchpin for streaming differentiation:

Netflix’s NFL Deal:

Its Christmas Day NFL games drew 25M viewers, signaling a push into live sports to retain subscribers.

Interactive Ads:

Innovid reports interactive CTV ads (e.g., QR codes, product galleries) drive 71 seconds of additional engagement, enhancing ad recall by 32%.

CTV ad spend trails viewership growth, with campaigns averaging only 19.64% household reach. (We think this might also be due to better targeting and exclusion measures so that advertisers on CTV reach their target audience more precisely rather than traditional bulk buys on linear TV.)

The streaming industry’s 2025 evolution underscores an irreversible shift toward advertising-led models. As FAST and programmatic CTV dominate, the focus will turn to hyper-personalization, global localization, and bridging the ad-spend-to-viewership gap. For advertisers, this signals unparalleled reach but demands agility in navigating a fragmented, data-driven ecosystem.