The average annual spend per US household on video services, which peaked at $1150 per year in 2022, is set to fall by 8% by 2027. Ampere's forecast suggests that 2023 will become known as the year when per-household spending on subscription video-on-demand (SVoD) services in the US could no longer compensate for the continued decline in pay TV. By 2027, unless streaming services can sustain significant price inflation, US households will be investing almost $90 less per year on video services.

Annual bills for video content peaked at $1,146 per household in the US in 2022 thanks to a post-pandemic bounce-back in theatrical expenditure and an 18% year-on-year increase in SVoD outlay to $374 per household per year. This year, however, we will see US SVoD revenue growth slowing, hindered by market maturity and macroeconomic pressures. The added impact of cord-cutting will see yearly pay TV investment per average US household fall below $650 for the first time since 2006. Recent moves from TV groups to focus on hybrid tiers and free ad-supported video services represent one approach to compensating for this downward pressure.  

Meanwhile, in Western Europe, where consumer spend on pay TV is more stable, increasing demand for SVoD services will drive an 11% increase in overall household expenditure on video content by 2027. Indeed, Norway’s per household spend on video is set to overtake the US in 2025, the first Western market to do so. Looking ahead, US groups' ability to capitalise on this international growth is increasingly key given the pressures on domestic revenues.