As we shared last month in our State of Subscriptions preview, in recent years, non-Premium SVOD services, which include Specialty and Sports SVOD, as well as vMVPDs, have grown faster than Premium SVOD services. Antenna 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 the 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.
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.
In this edition of Antenna’s State of Subscriptions Report, we revisit the world of non-Premium streamers to gain a deeper understanding of the dynamics these services face. First, we compare Specialty entertainment streamers to two other non-Premium SVOD categories: Sports Streamers, including branded services like ESPN+ and DAZN, as well as league-specific services such as NFL+ and NBA League Pass; and Virtual Multichannel Video Programming Distributors (vMVPDs), like YouTube TV and Sling TV. Second, we break down the Specialty category into several subcategories to identify more specific trends and highlight outperforming subcategories.
If you’re interested in downloading your own copy of the full report, you can access it here. If you’re already on our distribution list, check your email; we’ve sent out a download link to everyone who has opted in to receive correspondence from Antenna. Antenna clients have exclusive access to a client-only expanded version of the Q3’25 State of Subscriptions report. Want to become an Antenna client? We want that, too! Drop us a line and let’s chat.
For more detailed information on Antenna’s methodology and definitions of core metrics, please visit http://www.antenna.live/methodology.
Premium SVOD includes 9 services: Apple TV+, Discovery+, Disney+, HBO Max, Hulu, Netflix, Paramount+, Peacock, and Starz. Specialty SVOD includes 24 services: A&E Crime Central*, Acorn TV, ALLBLK*, AMC+*, BBC Select, BET+, BritBox, Cinemax, Crunchyroll*, CuriosityStream*, Gaia*, Hallmark+*, History Vault*, Lifetime Movie Club*, MGM+*, PBS Documentaries, PBS KIDS, PBS Masterpiece, PureFlix*, Shudder*, Sundance Now*, UP Faith & Family*, ViX Premium* and Zeus Network* (*denotes Direct distribution is not covered). Sports includes 9 services: DAZN, ESPN+, FanDuel Sports Network, MLB TV*, MLS Season Pass, NBA League Pass*, NFL Sunday Ticket, NFL+, UFC Fight Pass (*denotes Direct distribution is not covered). vMVPD includes 6 services: DIRECTV STREAM, Fubo*, Hulu + Live TV, Philo, Sling TV, YouTube TV (*denotes Direct distribution is not covered).
