The U.S. streaming video market is entering a new phase of maturity, according to Antenna’s latest "The Signal" report. The research firm estimates there were 339 million subscriptions at the close of Q2 2025, with Premium SVOD services maintaining the majority share but Specialty, Sports, and vMVPD platforms now accounting for roughly 20% of the total market.
Specialty SVOD remains the fastest-growing segment of the industry, climbing 12% year-over-year in Q2’25. However, the category is showing signs of deceleration compared to the 22% growth rate recorded in Q2’24. Premium SVOD subscriptions, by contrast, rose 10% YoY this quarter, up slightly from the 11% posted last year.
Sports SVOD subscriptions have largely leveled off, but core offerings such as "MLS Season Pass," "NFL Sunday Ticket," and "NBA League Pass" continue to expand. The category’s overall stagnation stems primarily from ESPN+, which has lost momentum as Disney shifts its marketing strategy to prioritize the "Disney Duo" bundle of Disney+ and Hulu over the more expansive Trio package that previously included ESPN+. Analysts note that the real test for the sports segment will come with the upcoming launch of the joint ESPN and Fox "ONE" streaming service ahead of the 2025/2026 football season.
The broader streaming market continues to display more stable, mature behavior after years of rapid expansion and churn. Antenna reported 47.7 million gross additions and 41.8 million cancellations across Premium and Specialty SVOD services in Q2’25, resulting in 6 million net new subscriptions for the quarter.
The report underscores how audience fragmentation is both a challenge and an opportunity. Niche platforms targeting specific genres, fandoms, and language communities remain vital to the streaming ecosystem, but, as Antenna notes, these services may now be encountering the same growth constraints that hit Premium SVOD a few years earlier.
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