Analyzing the dynamics of the SVOD market in the EU-27: Factors influencing user subscriptions and revenue growth

Subscription Video-on-Demand (SVOD) platforms play a dominant role within the European Over-the-Top (OTT) media landscape, securing a substantial share of the digital media market. This study investigates the key drivers behind SVOD growth across the EU-27, focusing on the convergence of broadband infrastructure, smart device adoption, and investment in original content from 2017 to 2023. Employing fixed-effects models and descriptive statistics, the analysis identifies the critical factors influencing SVOD market expansion, including fixed broadband subscriptions, average broadband speed, and the increasing proliferation of smart devices, specifically smartphones and smart remote controls. Findings reveal that SVOD platforms outperform alternative models such as Advertising-based Video-on-Demand (AVOD) and Transactional Video-on-Demand (TVOD) in revenue generation, despite AVOD leading in user adoption. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic served as a catalyst for SVOD adoption, temporarily accelerating subscription rates and content consumption before user behavior normalized in the post-pandemic period. This study demonstrates that robust telecommunications infrastructure and smart technologies accelerate shifts in media consumption patterns and drive revenue growth. • SVOD revenue surpasses AVOD and TVOD in the EU-27 media market. • Broadband connectivity and average broadband speed drive SVOD subscriptions and revenue. • Smart devices, including smartphones and smart remotes, enhance SVOD growth. • Findings highlight the synergy between infrastructure and device diffusion in EU-27 SVOD growth.