Shift in the streaming media landscape: From Competition to Collaboration

New research from Omdia, presented at IBC 2025, has revealed a fundamental shift in the streaming media landscape, with major platforms moving from fierce competition to strategic collaboration in what Maria Rua Aguete, Head of M&E at OMDIA, called "Streaming Love" – a new era of partnerships between previously competitive giants.

"The 'Streaming Wars' narrative is giving way to a more collaborative ecosystem," said María Rúa Aguete. "We're seeing unprecedented partnerships between streaming giants and traditional broadcasters that benefit both sides while expanding content offerings for consumers."

PARTNERSHIP REVOLUTION

Netflix has emerged as a frontrunner in this collaborative approach, establishing several key partnerships:

• TF1 Aggregation Deal (June 2025): Netflix now integrates content from all five of TF1's linear channels and on-demand content from the TF1+ platform directly within the Netflix interface
• Canal+ Partnership in Francophone Africa (July 2025): Extended European collaboration to one of Netflix's weakest regions, leveraging Canal+'s dominant Pay TV network
• MBC Partnership in MENA (July 2025): Netflix content bundled with MBC Now, a newly launched IPTV product in Saudi Arabia

Disney+ has similarly embraced this partnership model across Europe:

• ITVX (UK): Content-sharing agreement to offer more British programming to Disney+ subscribers
• 2DF Studios/ZDF (Germany): Expanded collaboration bringing over 3,000 episodes and films of German content to the platform, including popular series like Mountain Medic and Alpine Rescue
• ATRESMEDIA (Spain): Integration of popular Spanish content, including Atresplayer originals and Antena 3 series

MARKET FORCES DRIVING COLLABORATION

The research identifies several factors driving this shift toward partnerships. "SVOD growth is stagnating globally, with single-digit growth becoming the norm by 2028," explained Rúa Aguete. "Additionally, consumer adoption of multiple SVOD services has reached saturation, creating a self-bundling plateau."

The data shows that by 2030, telco bundling will represent 23% of all SVOD subscriptions globally, with non-telco bundling accounting for another 10% of subscriptions.

COMPELLING MARKET EVIDENCE

The numbers clearly demonstrate the power of these partnerships:

• In Spain, 90% of SVOD users subscribe to at least one of either Netflix or Amazon Prime Video
• In France, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video have partnered with top BVOD services
• These partnerships create mutual benefits: local broadcasters gain technology and global reach while streaming giants access regional content and audiences

"This interconnected media ecosystem represents a strategic pivot from direct competition to collaborative growth strategies," concluded Rúa Aguete. "The 'super-streamers' emerging from these partnerships increasingly resemble Pay-TV 2.0, fundamentally changing how content reaches consumers worldwide."