Streaming services in 2023 will reach revenue of $95.3 billion, 18 percent higher than last year

Streaming services continue to grow year after year, and according to data presented by OnlyAccounts.io, global subscription-based streaming revenues are expected to reach $95.3 billion in 2023. This represents an 18 percent increase compared to the previous year.

This figure is projected to jump an additional 73 percent over the next four years, reaching $137 billion by 2027. In just five years, the number of people using subscription streaming services has nearly doubled, rising from 610 million in 2017 to 1.16 billion last year.

According to Statista Market Insights, global subscription-based streaming revenue has nearly tripled since 2017, surpassing $80 billion in 2022. Sales in physical formats have fallen by nearly 30 percent during this period, while digital pay-per-view and paid downloads have seen significantly slower growth than streaming.

Due to the increasing supply in the market and thanks to new players in the streaming field, revenues are expected to further increase over the next five years, with streaming revenue growing at an average rate of 9.5 percent from 2023 to 2027, reaching $137 billion globally.

USA, China, and UK lead the world

Statista’s research has shown that nearly 65 percent of total subscription video on demand (SVOD) revenue comes from just three countries: the USA, China, and the United Kingdom.

The USA, as the largest SVOD market, is expected to generate $39.2 billion in revenue this year and continue to grow at an annual rate of 8.6 percent from 2023 to 2027, resulting in a projected market volume of $54.6 billion.

The Chinese market is expected to record an average growth rate of 10.1 percent during the same period, with SVOD revenue increasing from $19.4 billion to $28.5 billion, while the United Kingdom is expected to grow to nearly $5.5 billion by 2027 at a four-year growth rate of 8.9 percent.

‘Streaming wars’ between media giants Netflix, Apple, Amazon, and Hulu have pushed media industry spending to record levels. Over the past five years, media companies have spent nearly $445 billion on video content to keep pace in the race for increased viewership.

According to the latest Statista forecasts from May, around 1.3 billion people worldwide will watch SVOD videos this year, compared to 1.16 billion in 2022, with the UK, China, and the USA as the top three markets. In these developed digital markets, consumers continue to shift away from traditional pay-TV spending in favor of more flexible, affordable, and expansive video formats.

Statista expects the number of users to continue to grow in the coming years, reaching 1.5 billion by 2025, and by 2027, this number is projected to increase by an additional nine percent to 1.64 billion users worldwide.