United States OTT Market Size and Share
Market Overview
| Study Period | 2019 - 2030 |
|---|---|
| Base Year For Estimation | 2024 |
| Forecast Data Period | 2025 - 2030 |
| Market Size (2025) | USD 122.44 Billion |
| Market Size (2030) | USD 222.10 Billion |
| Growth Rate (2025 - 2030) | 10.58% CAGR |
| Market Concentration | Medium |
Major Players
*Disclaimer: Major Players sorted in no particular order Image © Mordor Intelligence. Reuse requires attribution under CC BY 4.0. |
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United States OTT Market Analysis by Mordor Intelligence
The United States OTT market size is estimated at USD 122.44 billion and is forecast to reach USD 222.1 billion by 2030, expanding at a 10.58% CAGR from 2025 to 2030. Robust growth stems from smart-TV ubiquity, the accelerated decline of cable subscriptions, and the widening availability of fiber and 5G, which together make streaming the primary viewing option for most households. Competitive intensity has escalated as platforms juggle rising content costs, evolving ad strategies, and demographic shifts; SVoD still leads, but ad-supported tiers are eroding its dominance. Live sports, premium originals, and sophisticated recommendation engines have become the main levers for differentiation. Platforms are also experimenting with bundling, loyalty rewards, and hybrid monetization to mitigate subscription fatigue while sustaining engagement.
Key Report Takeaways
- By revenue model, SVoD commanded 58% of the United States OTT market share in 2024, while AVoD/FAST is projected to grow at a 9.8% CAGR to 2030.
- By device type, smart TVs captured 40.2% of 2024 revenue; smartphones and tablets are forecast to post a 10.5% CAGR through 2030.
- By content genre, entertainment held 62.1% of 2024 revenue; sports content is on track for an 11% CAGR between 2025 and 2030.
- By age group, viewers aged 18-34 accounted for 45.3% of 2024 revenue; the 55+ segment is expanding at a 12% CAGR through 2030.
- Netflix, Disney’s streaming trio, Amazon Prime Video, and Warner Bros. Discovery collectively controlled more than 75% of paid streaming revenue in 2024.
United States OTT Market Trends and Insights
Drivers Impact Analysis
| Driver | (~) % Impact on CAGR Forecast | Geographic Relevance | Impact Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rising Cord-Cutting Rates Among US Households | +1.4% | National (US urban/suburban) | Short term (≤ 2 years) |
| Rapid Expansion of Fiber and 5G Networks | +1.1% | National, most pronounced in metro and fiber-rich corridors | Medium term (2-4 years) |
| Intensifying Content Spend and Original Production by OTT Giants | +0.9% | National, with spillover into global catalogues | Long term (≥ 4 years) |
| Increasing Penetration of Connected TVs | +0.7% | National, especially in middle-income and tech-upgrading households | Medium term (2- 4 years) |
| Bundling of OTT Subscriptions with Telecom/Cable Broadband Packages | +0.6% | National, with early traction in Northeast and West Coast | Medium term (2- 4 years) |
| Shift Toward Ad-Supported Models | +0.7% | National, more pronounced in price-sensitive and older cohorts | Short term (≤ 2 years) |
| Source: Mordor Intelligence | |||
Rising Cord-Cutting Rates Among US Households Accelerating Direct-to-Consumer Adoption
Cable subscriber losses and streaming subscriber gains illustrate a decisive migration to direct-to-consumer delivery. Netflix’s global base surpassed 270 million in 2025, while pay-TV churn remained elevated.[1[ Netflix Inc., “Q4 2024 Shareholder Letter,” netflixinvestor.com Younger viewers initiated the trend, but households aged 55+ are now accelerating adoption. Live sports rights—such as Amazon’s exclusive NFL Thursday Night Football package—are being priced at premiums because they drive incremental conversions, pushing platforms to pool resources for marquee events.
Rapid Expansion of Fiber and 5G Networks Enabling Higher-Quality Streaming
Gigabit-class fixed broadband and nationwide mid-band 5G coverage have reduced buffering and unlocked bandwidth for 4K and HDR streams. Netflix’s 2025 home-page redesign featuring AI-assisted discovery relies on those network gains to serve real-time, rich visuals, CNN. Higher bitrates and low-latency delivery now permit experimental formats such as choose-your-own-ending films and synchronized social-watch parties, adding incremental engagement without compromising picture quality.
Intensifying Content Spend and Original Production by OTT Giants Sustaining Subscriber Growth
Netflix allocated USD 18 billion for new content in 2024 and registered a 13% revenue lift as a result. Apple TV+ continues to rely almost entirely on originals, while Disney, Amazon, and Warner Bros. Discovery have redirected portions of theatrical and cable budgets to streaming exclusives. As catalogs grow, churn management hinges on staggered releases, cross-franchise universes, and data-driven retention offers.
Increasing Penetration of Connected TVs Boosting Big-Screen Streaming in Living Rooms
Smart-TV ownership crossed 80% of broadband homes in 2025, eclipsing external devices. Operating-system providers, notably Roku and Samsung, now intermediate content discovery, forcing services to fund prime on-screen real estate. The shift toward living-room streaming raises expectations for cinematic video quality and stable playback, nudging platforms to adjust encoding and CDN strategies for large-screen environments.
Restraints Impact Analysis
| Restraint | (~) % Impact on CAGR Forecast | Geographic Relevance | Impact Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Growing Content Licensing Costs and Competition for Premium IP | -1.4 | National, more acute for platforms with major sports/entertainment IP | Medium term (2-4 years) |
| Fragmented Data-Privacy Regulation (e.g., CPRA) | -0.6 | National, with highest compliance overhead in California and states with stricter privacy laws | Medium term (2-4 years) |
| Market Saturation and Churn | -1.0 | National, especially in urban and high-income clusters | Short term (≤ 2 years) |
| Inflation and Consumer Price Sensitivity | -0.8 | National, with higher impact in lower-income and rural areas | Short term (≤ 2 years) |
| Source: Mordor Intelligence | |||
Growing Content Licensing Costs and Competition for Premium IP Squeezing Margins
Escalating bids for must-have franchises are pressuring operating margins, especially as subscriber growth decelerates. Titles such as “House of the Dragon” and “The Boys” failed to generate proportionate subscriber spikes, highlighting diminishing returns. Platforms have responded by accelerating ad-tier rollouts; digital video advertising is forecast to exceed USD 62.9 billion in 2024, capturing 52% of all US video ad dollars MediaPost.
Fragmented Data-Privacy Regulation Increasing Ad-Targeting Compliance Complexity
Rules such as the California Privacy Rights Act elevate compliance costs for ad-supported services. FAST channels, whose impressions jumped 28% in 2024, must now invest in contextual targeting and consent-management systems to avoid fines, Amagi. [2]Amagi, “10th Quarterly Global FAST Report,” amagi.com The heavier regulatory burden could moderate short-term monetization gains, even as advertisers migrate budgets to connected TV.
Segment Analysis
By Revenue Model: Ad-Supported Offerings Proliferate
SVoD remained the revenue bulwark, contributing 58% of the 2024 spend. However, AVoD and FAST services are forecast to mint the highest incremental revenue, expanding at 9.8% CAGR to 2030. The United States OTT market size for ad-supported tiers is projected to climb from USD 50.1 billion in 2024 to USD 88.6 billion by 2030. Subscriber fatigue encourages price-sensitive viewers to pivot toward free or lightly priced plans embedded with advertising. Hybrid bundles such as Disney’s Disney+/Hulu/ESPN+ trio continue to bundle ad-supported and premium tiers, boosting lifetime value while lowering churn.
The United States OTT market has responded with a tiered framework in which high-ARPU subscribers retain ad-free access, whereas casual viewers accept targeted spots. By next year, ad-tier penetration will reach 36% for Disney+, 15% for Netflix, and 84% for Peacock, illustrating a clear migration path toward advertising-helped economics MediaPost. Transactional VOD persists for premium movie rentals, but its share has plateaued as consumers favor bundled options.
Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase
By Device Type: Smart TVs Reshape Discovery and Monetization
Smart TVs captured 40.2% of viewing revenue in 2024 and redefined homepage placement as a strategic battleground. The United States OTT market share for smart-TV consumption is likely to cross 47% by 2030 as interfaces integrate voice search, shoppable overlay ads, and dynamic rows promoting ad-tier upgrades. Smartphones and tablets will grow fastest at 10.5% CAGR, driven by commuting and travel usage, plus 5G coverage.
Game consoles retain a loyal cohort for premium gaming plus streaming bundles, while laptops and desktops serve work-from-home usage spikes. As smart-TV home screens evolve into ad inventory, OEMs like Vizio and Samsung are monetizing first-party data, thereby shifting bargaining power from apps to hardware makers. Short-form vertical video, tested inside the Netflix mobile feed, highlights the adaptability of the US OTT video streaming industry across screen sizes.
By Content Genre: Sports Becomes a Subscriber Catalyst
Movies and scripted series held 62.1% of 2024 revenue, but sports rights have become the principal catalyst for new sign-ups. The United States OTT market size for live sports is projected to advance at an 11% CAGR through 2030, buoyed by streaming-exclusive rights to NFL, MLS, and Formula 1 events. Amazon Prime Video’s Thursday Night Football and Apple’s MLS Season Pass exemplify rights-led differentiation.
News and information occupy a growing share within FAST, leveraging linear-style live feeds at minimal distribution cost. Kids’ programming, exemplified by Disney+ and Netflix’s co-viewing catalogs, underpins family plan retention. Niche genres ranging from anime to Korean dramas continue to punch above their weight, fueling acquisitions such as Sony’s purchase of Crunchyroll in 2024 to deepen loyalty among superfans.
Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase
By Age Group: Older Audiences Propel Incremental Growth
Consumers aged 18-34 remained the largest slice at 45.3% in 2024. Yet the 55+ cohort is forecast to post a 12% CAGR—the fastest pace of any group—through 2030. The United States OTT market size attributable to viewers older than 55 is expected to jump from USD 12.6 billion in 2024 to USD 24.9 billion by 2030. Adoption is fueled by simplified smart-TV set-ups, bundled broadband offers, and familiar legacy-brand catalogs migrating from cable.
Younger viewers continue to multitask between screens, reinforcing a mobile-first content strategy for short clips, while family subscriptions targeting <18 years remain pivotal in driving overall household adoption. Platforms now deploy personalized homepages that dynamically balance kids’ recommendations, sports alerts, and prestige drama rows, ensuring breadth without overwhelming any age segment.
Geography Analysis
Geography Analysis
Regional disparities in broadband penetration still shape platform traction within the United States OTT market. Urban clusters such as New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago exhibit near-universal adoption, whereas certain rural counties lag due to limited fiber rollouts. Nonetheless, the market reached saturation territory in 2025, shifting operator KPIs from gross additions to average view-time and ad impressions Digital TV News.
Smart-TV density is highest in coastal metros, fostering a discovery paradigm dominated by operating-system algorithms. In lower-income Southern regions, FAST channels generate outsized engagement, aided by local news and nostalgia offerings. The United States OTT market share for FAST in these geographies already exceeds 35%, signaling a structurally price-conscious cohort.
Midwestern and Mountain-West states have emerged as battlegrounds for sports-centric subscriptions, especially during NFL and college football seasons. Platforms co-promote mobile downloads to mitigate connectivity gaps during travel. As telcos bundle unlimited 5G home internet with discounted ad tiers, regional broadband-provider alliances will likely dictate incremental subscriber gains beyond 2027.
Competitive Landscape
The United States OTT market is dominated by a tight oligopoly that controls both premium catalogs and advanced ad tech. Netflix, Disney (Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+), Amazon Prime Video, and Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max collectively hold more than 75% revenue share. Netflix’s Q1 2025 redesign added AI-powered “surprise me” recommendations and a vertical-video preview rail, CNN, reinforcing experiential leadership.
Bundling strategies are expanding. Disney’s trio now offers a unified login, and Amazon bundles music, grocery savings, and Sunday Ticket add-ons to raise effective ARPU. Mergers remain constrained by antitrust scrutiny, yet alliances such as Comcast’s Peacock on Apple TV Channels illustrate cross-promotion without full consolidation.
The ad-supported field is intensifying. Roku Channel and Pluto TV have doubled original FAST channels, while Tubi surpassed Amazon’s Freevee on total monthly minutes in 2025. Competitive differentiation is converging on programmatic ad yield, contextual compliance, and real-time performance analytics. Niche platforms like Crunchyroll deliver defensible moats with community features and genre-specific events, proving that specialization remains viable alongside broad-span titans.
United States OTT Industry Leaders
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Netflix Inc.
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Amazon Prime Video
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Disney+ (incl. Hulu/ESPN+)
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Max (Warner Bros. Discovery)
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Peacock TV (Comcast)
- *Disclaimer: Major Players sorted in no particular order
Recent Industry Developments
- March 2025: Tubi released marketer guidance on leveraging FAST growth to reach multicultural audiences
- March 2025: The US accounted for the majority of new FAST channels launched worldwide, according to a MediaPost survey
- February 2025: NBC reported only 16% cross-viewership between linear and streaming, validating distinct audience pools and expanding incremental reach opportunities
- January 2025: Amagi’s 10th Quarterly Global FAST Report recorded a surge in global ad impressions, underscoring advertiser migration toward free ad-supported streaming television channels Amagi.
Research Methodology Framework and Report Scope
Market Definitions and Key Coverage
Our study defines the United States over-the-top (OTT) market as all paid or ad-funded video and audio streaming services accessed through fixed or mobile broadband, encompassing subscription, transactional, and advertising revenue streams across connected TVs, smartphones, tablets, and personal computers.
Scope exclusion: Hardware sales such as streaming sticks, smart TVs, or set-top boxes are excluded.
Segmentation Overview
- By Revenue Model
- Subscription Video on Demand (SVoD)
- Transactional Video on Demand (TVoD)
- Advertising Video on Demand (AVoD / FAST)
- Hybrid (Subscription + Ads)
- By Device Type
- Smartphones and Tablets
- Smart TVs
- Laptops and Desktops
- Game Consoles
- Set-Top Boxes and Media Streamers
- By Content Genre
- Entertainment (Movies and Series)
- Sports
- News and Information
- Kids and Educational
- Others (Documentary, Reality)
- By Age Group
- <18 Years
- 18-34 Years
- 35-54 Years
- 55+ Years
Detailed Research Methodology and Data Validation
Primary Research
Mordor analysts interview platform executives, content licensors, ad-tech vendors, and consumer-electronics retailers across all U.S. regions. These conversations validate average selling prices, churn triggers, ad-load norms, and planned content-spend trajectories, filling gaps that public datasets leave open.
Desk Research
We start with public pillars: FCC broadband statistics, U.S. Census demographics, and Bureau of Economic Analysis consumer-spend tables, before layering usage metrics from entities such as Nielsen, Comscore, and the Interactive Advertising Bureau. Company 10-Ks, investor decks, and trade-association white papers deepen service-level insights, while paid access to Dow Jones Factiva and D&B Hoovers lets our team pull historic revenue splits and M&A activity. Patent abstracts from Questel help gauge tech investment in codecs and ad-insertion. This foundation supplies the channel footprints, adoption curves, and pricing bands that our analysts need. The sources cited here are illustrative; many additional references inform data checks and clarification.
Market-Sizing & Forecasting
A top-down demand pool is built from broadband household counts, average paid-OTT spend, and streaming ad CPM flows, which are then corroborated with bottom-up roll-ups of sampled subscriber volumes multiplied by prevailing ARPU. Key variables include penetration of connected TVs, ad-supported tier take-up, cord-cutting velocity, live-sports rights inflation, and average monthly churn. Multivariate regression models, stress-tested through three scenario blocks, project revenue to 2030. Outliers are re-benchmarked against primary feedback.
Data Validation & Update Cycle
Outputs undergo variance checks versus external benchmarks, followed by a two-step peer review. We refresh every twelve months and re-issue sooner if material events, like blockbuster consolidation or regulatory shifts, alter market math.
Why Mordor's US OTT Baseline Earns Unmatched Trust
Published estimates often diverge because each firm applies its own service mix, price uplift path, and refresh rhythm. Our disciplined scope, annual recrawl, and dual-approach modeling narrow that gap for decision-makers.
Key gap drivers include: some publishers counting only subscription video, others omitting ad-supported revenue, and several converting currencies at static rates that ignore dollar volatility; still others lock forecasts two years out, whereas we rerun models after major price hikes or sport-rights deals.
Benchmark comparison
| Market Size | Anonymized source | Primary gap driver |
|---|---|---|
| USD 122.44 bn (2024) | Mordor Intelligence | - |
| USD 61.9 bn (2024) | Global Consultancy A | Excludes AVOD and music streaming |
| USD 90.28 bn (2024) | Industry Data Firm B | Counts only consumer spend, omits advertising |
Taken together, the comparison shows that when scope breadth, fresh inputs, and currency realism converge, as we ensure at Mordor, the resulting baseline stays balanced, transparent, and repeatable for a wide range of strategic uses.
Key Questions Answered in the Report
What is the current value of the United States OTT market?
The market is valued at USD 122.44 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow to USD 222.1 billion by 2030.
Which revenue model is growing the fastest?
Ad-supported video on demand and FAST channels are expanding at a 9.8% CAGR from 2025 to 2030, outpacing subscription-only offerings.
How important are smart TVs to streaming adoption?
Smart TVs captured 40.2% of 2024 revenue and are projected to exceed 47% share by 2030, making big-screen placement a primary competitive lever.
Which age group is the fastest-growing streaming audience?
Viewers aged 55+ are expanding at a 12% CAGR, reflecting simplified device experiences and bundled broadband-plus-streaming offers.
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