According to new research by Ampere Analysis, global paid streaming subscriptions are projected to exceed two billion by 2029. The report attributes the growth to major platforms’ international expansion and success in reducing password sharing.
The milestone reflects an increase from 1.8 billion subscriptions currently. However, subscriber growth has been markedly slow compared to the previous five years, when global subscriptions doubled from 2019 to 2024. Global streaming subscriptions surpassed one billion at the height of the pandemic. Stay-at-home orders caused a historical peak of 282 million new streaming sign-ups in 2020.
The research notes that streamers must work hard to re-engage growth in less saturated markets, investing in marketing and locally relevant content, if they are to beat the two billion figure earlier than 2029.
Subscription streaming revenues are expected to grow almost three times faster than subscribers. Ampere expects over 30% growth by 2029 as services focus on profitability and per-subscriber monetisation. Subscription streaming is expected to generate an additional US$22bn from ad sales as traditionally ad-free streaming services have pivoted to ad-tiers. By 2029, the annual revenue of the global subscription streaming market will be over US$190bn.
Further, Subscription streamers will soon become the largest contributing segment to the global TV economy, generating almost US$170bn annually in 2029 from paid subscriptions. From this, Netflix will claim a 29%. The research notes that Netflix has already led several initiatives to solidify long-term revenue growth in saturated streaming markets, creating an ad revenue stream and tackling password-sharing. Disney+ and Max have additionally adopted the bold bundling strategy.
The research also highlights that the Asia Pacific region will be significant for subscriber growth over the next five years as the more developed US market becomes increasingly saturated.
Discussing the research’s findings, Maria Dunleavey, Research Manager at Ampere Analysis, said: “The global streaming market is poised to generate US$190bn annually from two billion paid subscriptions by 2029. Key strategic developments, like Netflix’s account-sharing crackdown, cheaper ad tier offer, and rivals Disney+ and Max’s aggressive approach to bundling, are driving revenue growth in saturated streaming markets.”
“Targeting the untapped Asia Pacific region is the most promising strategy for subscriber growth. Streamers must double down on strategic investments in less saturated markets to surpass current subscriber expectations. India was Netflix’s second-largest subscriber growth market in 2024, and the company has barely scratched the surface there in terms of growth potential,” Dunleavey concluded.
