8 Predictions for Streaming & Media in 2025
From exclusive content battles to smarter subscription strategies, here’s what we think the future holds for the industry.
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Hub’s 2025 Predictions
Even by the standards of the media industry, 2024 was an eventful year. Here’s a quick recap:
Prime Video launched an ad-supported tier in January, making all members default to ad-supported users. This move turned Prime Video into the biggest ad-supported platform literally overnight..
Disney announced a $1.5 billion investment in Epic Games, highlighting both the competition gaming poses to TV among young viewers and the massive opportunity for media companies to leverage their intellectual property in a rapidly growing space.
YouTube—once known as the home of cat videos—officially became the largest streaming TV platform when, in July, it became the first to surpass 10% of total viewing in Nielsen’s Gauge.
Streaming also made big moves in sports. Amazon secured NBA rights (and WBD lost them), while Netflix became the home of the WWE and two NFL games on Christmas Day. Netflix also drew 60 million viewers to its first live boxing match—though some technical hiccups revealed how challenging streaming live sports can be.
The 2024 election underscored how much the internet has encroached on TV news as the primary source of information (and the last pillar of traditional cable TV). Growing numbers of viewers get their news from platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and (maybe soon) Amazon.
And finally one more bombshell to close out the year: Comcast announced plans to spin off its profitable but declining cable networks into a separate company. While not entirely unexpected, it marks a seismic shift in the foundation of the TV ecosystem.
So what’s on the radar for 2025?
Personally, I’m feeling optimistic: there are finally signs TV is adapting to its new reality. NBC tore up its Olympics game plan to build a new streaming-focused app that delivered gangbusters viewership and revenue. And Disney’s latest quarterly results suggest traditional media companies can make streaming profitable after all - if they’re willing to make the bold changes necessary to not just survive, but thrive.
Below you’ll find our team’s predictions for 2025. Will these all come true? Maybe, maybe not. We tried to make them interesting, not just obvious. But we do know a lot will happen in the next 12 months, and we’ll be here to navigate through them. Thanks for reading and subscribing!
Happy Holidays,
Jon
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Long-term subscriptions are “in”.
When Disney+ launched in 2019, D23 members who signed up for a 3-year plan received a 33% discount. This strategy—bolstered by the pandemic—enabled Disney+ to exceed its initial subscriber goals years ahead of schedule. It also gave the service a runway to focus on building rather than combating churn. Today, churn is the bane of every streaming platform. In 2025, I predict we’ll see more services combat churn through long-term subscription discounts or by offering easy “click-to-freeze” options instead of outright cancellations.
News goes extremely online.
Young people are abandoning TV news in favor of social media sources, as evidenced by an election night where most TV networks saw their audience plummet while YouTube thrived. In 2025, I predict news organizations will double down on platforms like YouTube and TikTok, emphasizing short-form news content and shifting away from expensive TV personalities who fail to deliver ratings in line with their paychecks.
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Skinny streaming bundles from Internet providers will lure away single service subscribers.
New streamer bundles from major Internet providers—such as Charter with Disney+ and MAX or Comcast with Netflix and AppleTV+—will gain traction in 2025. These bundles, offering better pricing and content aggregation, will prompt consumers to reconsider the value of subscribing to individual services.
Disney will forge a deal to sell some of its streaming services through the Amazon Prime Channels platform.
Disney and Netflix remain notable holdouts from selling their services through Amazon Prime Channels. In 2025, I predict Disney will test the waters by offering select services—potentially Hulu content—on Amazon Channels to broaden their reach and increase engagement.
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At least one of the second tier streaming services will no longer exist as a standalone.
In 2025, I predict at least one second-tier streaming service—Max, Paramount+, or Peacock—will cease to exist as a standalone platform. Instead, it may merge with another streamer to form a new service or be acquired by a deep-pocketed suitor and combined with other video offerings.
A FAST will acquire a robust package of women’s sports.
A major FAST channel will acquire streaming rights to packages of several major women’s sports including the WNBA.
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The new administration’s lighter regulatory hand will encourage more M&A and discourage checks on anti-competitive behavior.
Expect major players in TV tech—especially those dominating TV set operating systems—to buy market share. They will squeeze out smaller competitors by offering manufacturers irresistible deals to abandon home-grown solutions.
The content exclusivity pendulum swings back.
By the end of 2025, the rise of FASTs will drive increased competition for viewers. Legacy media firms with FASTs will realize (once again) that content exclusivity is a key audience driver and will pull back key library titles for exclusive use on their owned-and-operated FASTs. However, they will continue licensing less critical content to whoever can pay.
What are your predictions for media and entertainment in 2025? Drop a comment and let us know what you see in your crystal ball.
ICYMI: Hub in the News
New Research from Hub Shows That “Peak TV” Still Delivering an Abundance of Favorite TV to Watch
“More than ever, viewers are embracing favorite original shows that they may not have seen when they first came out. As studios continue to make these shows more broadly accessible, consumers will benefit as long as the streamers can help viewers find those shows with better recommendations and discovery tools." —
, Hub Senior Consultant
Despite the Hollywood strikes, the volume of shows produced during the “Peak TV” years has left viewers with an embarrassment of riches. Data from Hub’s annual Conquering Content study suggests expanded licensing is still providing viewers with a steady stream of new things to watch. Here are 6 takes on the latest research.
Streaming Media: New Research from Hub: “Peak TV” Still Delivering an Abundance of Favorite TV to Watch
The Streamable: Audiences are flocking to familiar shows on new streamers thanks to licensing deals
Newscast Studio: Older ‘Peak TV’ series gaining favor as studio output slows, study reports
TV Technology: New Research Suggests It’s Still ‘Peak TV’ for Streaming
Media Play News: Hub Research: Expanded Catalog Programming Ups TV Viewing
MediaPost: Streaming Consumers' Satisfaction Still High Despite Fewer Originals
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Hub Entertainment Research, which celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2023, tracks how technology is changing the way people find, choose, and consume entertainment content: from TV and movies to gaming, music, podcasts, and social video. Hub’s studies have covered the most important trends in providers, devices, and technologies since 2013. We work with the largest TV networks, pay TV operators, streaming providers, technology companies, and studios to assess the present and forecast the future.
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