Antenna’s latest State of Subscriptions report confirms that while the streaming market is still expanding, the momentum behind non-Premium categories, including Specialty SVOD, Sports SVOD, and vMVPDs, is starting to slow.
As of the end of Q2 2025, Antenna estimates there were 339 million streaming subscriptions in the U.S., spanning Premium SVOD, Specialty, Sports, and vMVPDs. Premium services still hold the majority, but approximately 20% of total subscriptions now belong to the non-Premium segment.
Specialty SVOD: Still Growing, but Showing Signs of Maturity
Specialty SVOD remains the fastest-growing segment, increasing 12% year-over-year at mid-2025. However, this is a significant drop from the 22% growth recorded at mid-2024. These services, such as AMC Plus, BritBox, and Crunchyroll, have found traction with genre fans, fandom communities, and language-specific audiences.
Importantly, user engagement with Specialty platforms is still increasing. Antenna estimates that about one-third of all U.S. streaming subscribers have transacted with a Specialty service as of Q2 2025. That figure represents nearly a 70% increase compared to two years ago.
Subcategories within Specialty are also outperforming. British-interest services like Acorn TV and BritBox have reached 5.4 million subscribers with an 18% compound annual growth rate. Premium scripted platforms including AMC Plus, MGM Plus, and Starz now total 18.4 million subscribers with a 13% CAGR.
Demographics highlight distinct audience clusters. BritBox and similar services skew older, with penetration among viewers aged 55 and up outpacing the general population by 18 percentage points. Conversely, platforms like Crunchyroll over-index with younger and more diverse users, especially Black and Hispanic audiences.
Sports SVOD: Flat Growth Ahead of Market Shifts
While Specialty is still expanding, Sports SVOD growth has largely plateaued. Overall category growth is flat, though individual services like MLS Season Pass, NFL Sunday Ticket, and NBA League Pass continue to gain users.
Antenna attributes some of the category’s decline to ESPN+, which has seen slowed momentum as Disney shifted its marketing focus to the Disney Duo bundle (Disney+ and Hulu), excluding ESPN+. By Q2 2025, 24% of U.S. SVOD users had transacted with a Sports service, up from 19% two years earlier, indicating continued consumer interest despite the overall plateau.
The real test for the Sports category will come later this year with the launch of the joint ESPN and Fox Sports streaming service ahead of the 2025–2026 football season. This launch could rebalance the category and redirect growth.
vMVPDs: Slowing Growth but Rising Share
Virtual multichannel video programming distributors (vMVPDs), including YouTube TV, Fubo, and Sling, posted 5% year-over-year growth in Q2 2025, a significant drop from 15% in Q2 2024.
However, overall usage is up. By Q2 2025, 18% of U.S. streaming subscribers had transacted with a vMVPD, compared to 14% two years prior. As sports programming continues to move into direct-to-consumer formats, vMVPDs will need to redefine their market position. With ESPN and Fox’s new streaming platform entering the field, the traditional role of vMVPDs as aggregators of live sports is now being directly challenged.
Churn Rates Stabilize Across Specialty, Sports, and vMVPDs
Churn rates remain higher in non-Premium categories but are showing signs of stability:
- Specialty SVOD: 6.6% churn in June 2025, with monthly rates ranging from 6.6% to 9.2% since 2023
- Sports SVOD: 5.1% churn, fluctuating between 4.4% and 12.0%
- vMVPDs: 4.5% churn, with a two-year range of 4.1% to 7.1%
- Premium SVOD: 4.1% churn on average, with lower volatility due to long-term user bases, especially Netflix
These patterns indicate that while newer or niche services experience more volatility, they are improving at retention as they scale.
The Take
The non-Premium streaming segment is no longer in hyper-growth mode, but it remains a vital part of the broader ecosystem. Specialty services in particular continue to carve out meaningful space by serving targeted audiences. However, the market is maturing. Subscription growth is slowing, churn is stabilizing, and the competition for user attention is getting tighter. With ESPN and Fox set to reshape the Sports streaming landscape, and vMVPDs facing existential questions about their value proposition, the second half of 2025 may define what sustainable growth looks like for this side of the streaming market.
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