Video Streaming Services in European Union 2026: Industry Statistics & Trends

The video streaming services industry in the European Union comprises over-the-top digital platforms that distribute video-on-demand content directly to consumers. The sector is moving rapidly away from pure subscriber expansion toward monetisation, hybrid subscription-advertising tiers, and compliance with strict localized content funding laws. According to data released by the European Audiovisual Observatory, US-backed players captured a dominant position, accounting for over 80% of subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) and in-video over-the-top (OTT) advertising revenues in Europe by the end of 2024 (European Audiovisual Observatory Key Trends 2026), while the overall broader European audi

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What does the Video Streaming Services in European Union industry cover?

The industry encompasses commercial digital platforms providing online on-demand access to films, television series, and user-generated video content across the European Union. It includes Subscription Video-on-Demand (SVOD), Transactional Video-on-Demand (TVOD), and Advertising-supported Video-on-Demand (AVOD) frameworks. This domain excludes linear broadcast television, cinema exhibition networks, and physical home video rentals.

• •Under the European Union NACE Rev. 2 system, these operations fall under statistical codes 59.13 (Motion picture, video and television programme distribution activities) and 60.20 (Television programming and broadcasting activities).
• •The scope covers both multinational digital pure-plays and digital extensions of domestic public or private broadcasting networks.
• •On-demand video-on-demand services across wider Europe experienced a 15% increase in total service availability between December 2024 and December 2025 as reported by the European Audiovisual Observatory.

Who operates in the industry and how is it structured?

The European Union video streaming market features a highly concentrated upper tier controlled by global platforms, contrasted against a highly fragmented ecosystem of national broadcasters and niche content providers. While domestic European entities operate 80% of all distinct on-demand services within the top 50 VOD groups, they face immense structural scale barriers. The sector is heavily dependent on content investments, which are increasingly influenced by regulatory spending quotas.

• •Global streaming platforms accounted for 8.5 billion EUR or 34% of the total 25.1 billion EUR spent on European original content production in 2024 (European Audiovisual Observatory).
• •Public and private traditional broadcasters accounted for the remaining 66% of original content investment, facing margin compression due to linear audience declines.
• •A substantial volume asymmetry exists, where US entities dominate total catalogue hours and viewing time despite a high absolute number of local European service offerings.

What drives demand in the industry?

Consumer demand is fundamentally driven by widespread high-speed broadband penetration, multi-device connectivity, and changing structural media viewing behaviors across EU member states. Audiences increasingly prioritize flexible, non-linear scheduling over traditional linear television programming. Furthermore, demand is heavily swayed by culturally localized, high-end episodic storytelling and premium cinematic releases migrating to streaming platforms.

• •Television series command the vast majority of consumer engagement, representing 78% of total viewing time on subscription video-on-demand platforms in Europe by 2024, compared to 22% for feature films.
• •Consumer revenues from subscription fees, premium rentals, and pay-TV represent the largest component of the broader European audiovisual market, accounting for 72 billion EUR in 2024.
• •High-performing theatrical releases act as powerful downstream demand catalysts, generating 11 times more streaming viewing time than films with low cinema box office attendance.

Who are the notable companies in the industry?

The competitive landscape is defined by aggressive competition among massive US-based multinational groups and legacy European television networks expanding their digital footprints. Market participants are competing via distinct monetization strategies, including multi-tier subscription plans, password-sharing crackdowns, and algorithmic personalization engines. To remain viable, European domestic groups are increasingly seeking pan-European distribution alliances or public funding support.

• •Netflix Inc. operates as a leading market force, spending roughly 2.4 billion EUR on original European content investments in 2024.
• •The Walt Disney Company (via Disney+) and Amazon.com Inc. (via Prime Video) maintain major regional footprints, investing 2.3 billion EUR and 2.2 billion EUR respectively in European original content in 2024.
• •Apple Inc. represents an established premium tier operator, committing approximately 0.6 billion EUR to local European original productions in 2024.
• •Vivendi SE (via its Canal+ group) and RTL Group SA represent key European public entities actively defending regional market shares through integrated broadcasting and streaming hybrid networks.

What are the recent trends and outlook?

The industry is undergoing an operational shift from pure customer acquisition metrics toward absolute bottom-line profitability and structural efficiency. Platforms are aggressively deploying hybrid advertising tiers to mitigate subscriber churn brought on by macroeconomic household budgeting pressures. Concurrently, growth in regional content production budgets is leveling off as global platform expenditures mature.

• •The explosive post-pandemic growth of streaming investments leveled out by 2024, with global streamer original spending growth pacing at 42% in 2024 compared to 97% back in 2022.
• •Platform commissioning activity for new original titles saw its first structural decline in 2024 after consecutive years of aggressive expansion.
• •The industry is seeing rapid integration of artificial intelligence for localized translation, subtitle generation, and automated content encoding to streamline operational overhead.

How is the industry regulated?

Operations within the European Union are strictly bound by the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD), which establishes rigorous governance regarding content origin, safety, and financing. This regulatory framework seeks to preserve European cultural identity and level the playing field between global tech platforms and legacy domestic broadcasters. Operators face complex, decentralized compliance regimes given that individual EU member states execute these directives via customized national laws.

• •The AVMSD requires on-demand video platforms to dedicate at least a 30% share of their content catalogues to European works and ensure prominent positioning of such titles.
• •Member states are legally empowered to impose direct financial contributions on streaming providers, requiring them to invest a percentage of their local revenues into national film funds or regional co-productions.
• •Virtually all on-demand video services (99.8%) operating in the region are officially registered under the AVMSD within their respective EU country of establishment as of December 2025.

Government, statistical and trade sources used for this Claight analysis.

• European Audiovisual Observatory Key Trends 2026 ·
• European Audiovisual Observatory Audiovisual Media Services in Europe 2025 ·
• European Parliament Report on Future of Film Financing 2026 ·
• Eurostat NACE Rev. 2 Statistical Classification Framework