New data released by Barb in its Q2 2025 Establishment Survey shows that 20.6 million UK households—equivalent to 69.7% of homes—now have access to at least one subscription video‑on‑demand (SVOD) service, up from 20.1 million homes in Q1 (67.5%) (Barb). Streaming market leaders remain steady, with Netflix accessible in 17.6 million homes (59.6%), Prime Video in 13.7 million homes (46.6%), and Disney+ reaching 7.6 million UK homes (25.7%).
Notably, ad‑supported subscription tiers are gaining momentum. Among Netflix homes in Q2, 5.5 million—around 31%—subscribe to its ad tier, up from 28% the previous quarter. Prime Video shows an even stronger tilt toward ad support, with 87% of its 13.7 million homes (12 million homes) subscribing via its ad tier, unchanged from Q1 but continuing a trend. Disney+ saw its ad‑tier base rise from 1.7 million to 2.1 million homes quarter‑over‑quarter.
Other services include Paramount+ in 3.3 million UK homes (11%), Discovery+ in 3.0 million (10.3%), Apple TV+ in 2.7 million (9.3%), and NOW in 1.9 million homes (6.3%). Doug Whelpdale, Head of Insight at Barb, noted, “With almost all services showing quarterly growth, close to half a million more homes now have an SVOD service than in Q1. Strong quarterly growth from the Netflix and Disney+ ad tiers, alongside smaller overall growth, may suggest that existing users are moving from ad‑free to ad‑supported subscriptions, particularly as our data suggest limited churn between Q1 and Q2.”
These figures indicate that while SVOD access continues to edge upward, the subscription landscape is shifting beneath streaming platforms. Ad‑supported tiers are becoming more prominent strategies for growth, likely driven by cost sensitivities among households and the saturation of ad‑free subscriptions. For UK content producers, platform owners, and advertisers, the trend underscores a volatile period in revenue models, where tiers and pricing structures could determine competitive advantage.
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