Video streaming: 2.6 billion users by 2030, but growth is slowing

According to a recent study by FutureSource (via Advanced Television), the number of streaming platform subscribers worldwide is currently 2.2 billion and is expected to reach 2.6 billion by 2030. Retention and engagement: the new priorities for platforms. Markets are maturing almost everywhere in the world, and subscriber growth is slowing, particularly in key regions. As a result, platforms are focusing more on user retention and engagement: keeping existing subscribers is becoming more important than acquiring new ones. "Streaming has always been a market where consumers hold significant power," commented Anastasia Budash, senior market analyst at FutureSource Consulting. "What's changing now is that markets are approaching saturation." As platforms compete more fiercely for attention, future growth demands strong market differentiation and nuanced retention strategies. The goal is efficiency: to generate more value from each piece of content. On the one hand, monetization strategies have evolved with cheaper, ad-supported offerings and increasingly frequent price hikes. On the other hand, investments are more targeted, with an emphasis on content that fosters retention and repeat viewing. For example, sports or series that generate buzz, create communities, and can be developed into spin-offs. In other words, services are aiming for efficiency rather than volume, in order to extract more value from each title developed and made available to subscribers.