• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, September 11, 2023

Western Europe will surpass North America in number of homes with at least one subscription OTT service in 2024, according to Ampere Analysis.

That will put North America in third place, behind Asia and Western Europe, where growth is being driven primarily by the U.K. and Germany.

In addition, as a result of North America’s near-saturation in OTT homes as other regions continue to grow, North America’s share of global subscription streaming revenue will fall below 50% in 2024 for the first time since Netflix launched its streaming service in 2007.

Global OTT subscription revenues were around $100 billion in 2022, and are set to exceed that in 2023. 

Western Europe is set to surpass Asia Pacific (APAC) in OTT subscription revenue this year, and reach about 20% of global subscription revenues by 2025.

APAC had been the second-largest OTT subscription revenue market for more than five years, driven by China, which surpassed $10 billion in annual revenue in 2022. China’s growth is now slowing, primarily due to a decline in Tencent Video subscribers.

Still, Asia remains the fastest-growing and largest region for streaming, and is likely to see the biggest increase in focus for content investment, so viewers in many regions will see more Asian-origin content on their streaming platforms. As the second strongest region for streaming growth going forward, Western Europe will also become increasingly influential as a source of content.

Global streamers have been increasingly targeting international markets for production to satisfy the demands of audiences outside the U.S. and bolster further growth in regions with the most potential for new customer acquisition.

Just 43% of Netflix’s upcoming series are being made in the U.S., Amazon Prime and Disney+ also now make fewer than 50% of their shows in the U.S., and Paramount+ is rapidly heading the same way, reports Ampere.

The increasing focus of content investment in key growth markets will have “long-term implications for the U.S. production sectors” and investment in Asia and Europe, notes Ampere Executive Director Guy Bisson.