USA: Specialty SVOD slows, now reaching one-third of subscribers

Antenna, a U.S.-based streaming research and analytics firm, reports that in recent years non-Premium SVOD services—including Specialty and Sports SVOD, as well as vMVPDs—have grown faster than Premium SVOD services." Thee company estimates that there were 339 million U.S. streaming video subscriptions by the end of Q2’25. While most subscriptions are still with Premium SVOD services, about 20% are for Specialty SVOD, Sports SVOD, and vMVPDs.

The growth of Specialty SVOD remains in double digits, but it is beginning to slow. Specialty SVOD subscriptions increased by 12% YoY at mid-2025, down from a 22% increase at mid-2024. Still, these targeted services—which appeal to passionate communities such as genre fans, fandoms, and language-specific offerings—remain vital to the industry’s overall health.

Even with the slowdown in growth, Antenna observes that consumers continue to seek out these services, and the share of total SVOD users who have engaged with Specialty services is gradually rising each quarter. Antenna estimates that, as of Q2’25, approximately one-third of all U.S. subscribers have used a Specialty SVOD, reflecting a nearly 70% increase compared to two years earlier.

Similarly, the share of U.S. streaming subscribers who have transacted with Sports services like MLS Season Pass, NFL Sunday Ticket, and NBA League Pass, as well as vMVPDs such as YouTube TV, Fubo, and Sling, has also grown. By Q2’25, 24% of U.S. SVOD customers have transacted with a Sports service, up from 19% two years earlier, and 18% have transacted with a vMVPD, up from 14%.

Churn is also moderating. Specialty SVOD Churn is currently 6.6% and has ranged from 6.6% to 9.2% each month since 2023. Sports SVOD Churn stands at 5.1%, and vMVPD Churn is currently 4.5%. Monthly Churn for Sports has ranged from 4.4% to 12.0% since 2023, and for vMVPDs, from 4.1% to 7.1% during the same two-year span. Finally, while Specialty, Sports, and vMVPDs have higher churn rates than Premium, overall churn for Premium SVOD is lower due to its large base of long-term subscribers, especially Netflix users.