Global subscription-based streaming revenues are expected to hit $95.3 billion in 2023, or 18% more than last year. This figure is forecast to jump by another 73% in the next four years to reach $137 billion in 2027 according to data presented by OnlyAccounts.io.

Brioaband News also reported that in just five years, the number of people using subscription-based streaming services has nearly doubled, jumping from 610 million in 2017 to 1.16 billion last year.

According to Statista Market Insights, global revenue from subscription-based streaming has almost tripled since 2017, topping $80 billion in 2022. Physical format sales dropped by nearly 30% in this period, while digital pay-per-view and paid downloads have grown much slower than streaming.

With more and more streaming services available to consumers, Statista expects revenues to increase even further in the next five years. Global streaming revenues are expected to grow at an average rate of 9.5% between 2023 and 2027 and hit $137bn worldwide.

The Statista survey showed nearly 65% of total SVOD revenue comes from only three countries. The US, as the largest SVOD market globally, will generate $39.2 billion in revenue this year, and continue growing by a CAGR of 8.6% between 2023-2027, resulting in a projected market volume of $54.6 billion.

As the second-largest globally, the Chinese market will see an average growth rate of 10.1% in this period, with SVOD revenues rising from $19.4 billion to $28.5 billion. The UK follows, with almost $5.5 billion in revenue by 2027 and a four-year CAGR of 8.9%.

The “streaming wars” between the media giants Netflix, Apple, Amazon, and Hulu have pushed the media industry’s content cash spending to record highs. Over the past five years, media companies splashed out close to $445 billion on video content in five years, all in a race to grow their viewership.

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

Statista expects the number of users to continue growing in the following years and hit 1.5 billion in 2025. By 2027, this figure is forecast to grow by another 9% and hit 1.64 billion worldwide.