Poland will overtake Russia as the OTT market leader in Eastern Europe by 2026 despite having a smaller population, predicts Digital TV Research.
In total, the region will have 43 million SVoD subscriptions by 2027; up from 23 million at end-2021.
Russia and Poland will account for 64 per cent of the region’s SVoD subscribers by 2027, down from 79 per cent in 2021 as other countries grow faster say the analysts.
Western SVoD platforms withdrew from Russia and are unlikely to return before 2027, added Digital TV Research. These platforms only made a limited impact in Russia, and the country is not as dependent on Western content as many other European countries. However, sanctions will result in economic hardship that will adversely affect Russian household spend.
Netflix will remain the most popular service, with 8.18 million subscribers by 2027, up from 5.82 million at end-2021. Disney Plus will reach 4.69 million subscribers by 2027 despite starting as recently as this June.
Simon Murray, principal analyst at Digital TV Research, said: “HBO Max launched in March, with 3.11 million paying subscribers expected by 2027. Many more homes continue to receive HBO online as part of their pay-TV subscription.”
