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US OTT, Pay TV, and YouTube Viewers Forecast 2025

As the Major Streamers Jockey for Ad-Supported Viewers, FAST Continues to Rise, and Digital Pay TV Runs Out of Steam

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About This Report
OTT video—including YouTube, subscription OTT, AVOD, and free ad-supported streaming TV—is extremely popular in nearly all forms. But traditional pay TV continues to reach new lows.
Table of Contents

OTT video is more popular than social media or TV, and its myriad subcategories draw hundreds of millions of viewers each. YouTube is the OTT leader, but numerous subscription OTT (sub OTT) and ad-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) platforms are hugely popular. Pay TV, meanwhile, is in very poor shape, despite the emergence of digital pay TV.

Key Question: How many people in the US will watch OTT video in 2025, and what is the viewership outlook for traditional pay TV and digital pay TV?

Key Stat: Over 260 million people in the US—more than 77% of the population—will watch OTT video this year. Of these, nearly all will be watching YouTube, and most will use fee-based sub OTT platforms as well.

This report can help you:

  • Develop media strategy (brands and agencies)
  • Allocate budget for campaigns (brands and agencies)
  • Showcase opportunities to customers (media platforms and agencies)

Here’s what’s in the full report

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9charts

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Table of Contents

  1. Executive Summary
  2. Over 77% of the US population will regularly watch OTT video this year
  3. YouTube is in a league of its own, but it’s nearly reached the ceiling
  1. Most digital video viewers watch sub OTT content—with or without ads
  2. FAST services have quickly become major OTT players, with The Roku Channel and Tubi leading the way
  3. Pay TV remains in a free fall, despite the emergence of digital pay TV
  1. Media Gallery

authors

Ethan Cramer-Flood

Contributors

Ross Benes
Senior Analyst
Oscar Bruce Jr.
Director, Forecasting
Penelope Lin
Director, Data Visualization
Sakina Thanawala
Copy Editor
Emman Velasco
Chart Editor
Julia Woolever
Yoram Wurmser
Principal Analyst
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