Research group predicts Apple TV+ will have 26 million subscribers by 2025

Disney+ will be the biggest SVOD [subscription video on demand] winner over the next five years, according to a new report from Research and Markets. The research group forecasts that Apple TV+ will have 26 million subscribers by 2025.

For comparisons’s sake,  Netflix has about 167 million subscribers, Amazon Prime 150 million, and Hulu 30.4 million. Apple hasn’t said how many folks are tuning into its own streaming service. 

The report predicts that Disney+ will add 105 million paying subscribers between end-2019 and 2025 to take its total to 126 million. Disney+ will reach 53% of Netflix’s subscriber total by 2025 — up from only 27% in 2020, adds Research and Markets. 

Much of this initial growth will come from the U.S., principally due to the attractive bundling of Disney+ with ESPN+ and Hulu. ESPN+ and Hulu are not yet available outside the U.S., but Research and Markets still expects strong Disney+ take-up globally. 

Five global platforms will have 553 million paying SVOD subscribers by 2025, adding 196 million subscribers between 2020 and 2025. Research and Markets predicts that Netflix will gain 51 million subscribers between 2020 and 2025 and will command 44% of the 2025 total for the five platforms; down from 53% in 2020. HBO Max will have 30 million paying subscribers by 2025 — if non-payers are included then this figure could be tripled.