SVOD “stacking” has fallen, but FAST viewership continues to rise

Consumer appetite for subscription streaming services has transformed the industry over the past decade, but new data from Omdia has found a notable shift in subscription video on demand (SVOD) “stacking” behavior. According to Omdia’s latest report, there has been a significant change in the way consumers are subscribing to multiple streaming services: previously, they would often stack multiple subscriptions to gain access to a wider range of content, but they are now becoming more selective in their choices and opting for a more focused approach to their streaming subscriptions.

Discussing the trends, Maria Rua Aguete, Omdia's Senior Research Director, revealed that the countries where the growth of streaming and studio services (AVOD and SVOD) are showing signs of slowing down are the United States and Brazil. “After over half a decade of steady growth, we are observing a shift in how paid video services are consumed. The traditional model of stacking multiple paid services is losing ground. This is partly driven by the increasing popularity of free ad-supported television (FAST) channels, which are becoming a preferred choice for supplementary viewing,”  she said.

The number of SVOD subscriptions per household in the United States stood at 3.5 in April 2023, but Omdia’s research has found that number fell more than 10% to under three services by November 2023.

Moreover, FAST has remained on track to become a prominent segment in the United States, with weekly users of these channels representing 46% of total video users. Brazil has also seen a dramatic rise in FAST viewership, with weekly users now accounting for 36% of the video audience, a 4.5-fold increase from 2020. The UK, another key player in the FAST market, has seen a surge in FAST viewers, now representing 21% of total video users.

“The FAST channel market continues to witness strong growth in the UK, Canada, and Brazil, with revenues projected to reach US$8 billion by 2024. This poses both opportunities and challenges for service providers as they adapt to the changing landscape to keep up with evolving viewer demands,”  Rua Aguete concluded.