Despite mounting housing and cost of living pressures, Australia’s subscription entertainment market has demonstrated resilience, growing by 5% to nearly 54.6 million services in the 12 months leading up to June 2025. This growth is highlighted in new research from Australian emerging technology analyst firm, Telsyte.
The Telsyte Australian Subscription Entertainment Study 2025 reveals that Australians continue to prioritize on-demand entertainment. Notably, 47% of SVOD users describe their service as “non-negotiable,” 44% of music streamers consider it essential, and 63% of dedicated gamers, who play more than three hours daily, label games as “must-have.”
Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD) Market Dynamics
Even in a maturing market, growth persists across the three main categories: SVOD (5%), streaming music (6%), and games-related subscriptions (7%). Telsyte’s study excluded Optus Sport from its June 2025 reporting due to its impending closure and the ongoing subscriber transition to Stan Sport.
Expanding Access and Competitive Deals
The SVOD market has been buoyed by more affordable ad-supported plans, paid sharing programs, cross-sector bundles, and the launch of HBO Max. These factors contributed to the total number of SVOD services reaching 26.6 million by June 2025, marking a 5% increase year-on-year.
Market leaders remained consistent, with Netflix holding the top position with 6.4 million subscriptions, followed by Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Stan, Paramount+, Kayo Sports, and Binge. Paramount+ emerged as the fastest-growing major service in FY2025.
Momentum also stemmed from the long tail of other services with fewer than one million subscriptions, driven by new entrant HBO Max and a growing consumer interest in diversified content and sports. HBO Max reached the top 10 within three months of its launch, while beIN Sports and Crunchyroll posted rapid growth due to bundling and the rising popularity of anime.
Household Budget Management Amid Rising Costs
The study indicates that Australians are allocating more funds to support multiple subscriptions. Among those willing to pay for streaming video, the average monthly budget increased by 18% (+$6.30) to nearly $42, surpassing the average 13% rise in plan prices from the top 10 services as of September 2025.
Approximately a quarter of subscribers frequently exceed their budget, with households now carrying an average of 3.3 services. Telsyte Managing Director Foad Fadaghi stated, “SVOD is now an active channel for competitive deals and cross promotions with telecom, utilities, food delivery, and financial services.”
About one in four SVOD subscribers reported encountering such deals in the past year, with most acting on them, securing an average of three months of benefits at a 36% discount. However, cost-of-living pressures remain evident as value-seeking behaviors intensify. Nearly two-thirds of Australians report expenses rising faster than income, and 46% of SVOD users rotate services more often than last year to manage costs.
Ad-Supported and Creator-Driven Content
Ad-supported SVOD subscriptions more than doubled from 2.5 million to 6.4 million, led by Amazon Prime Video’s shift to ads in July 2024. Netflix, Binge, HBO, and Paramount+ also gained traction as consumers embraced lower-cost access.
Despite the closure of Optus Sport, sports remain a growing differentiator for SVOD services. Among Australia’s top SVOD services, around one in five subscribers now cite sports as a key sign-up reason. Consumers also want sports to remain accessible, with two-thirds believing access to free sports via free streaming services should be guaranteed, mirroring existing protections for free-to-air TV.
Local content remains highly valued, with more SVOD subscribers viewing Australian-related programming than other content. More than half (58%) of subscribers said it is important to have content that represents Australian stories, voices, culture, and values on SVOD services.
Broader Entertainment Landscape Trends
Telsyte found that average weekly video consumption rose by four hours to more than 51 hours, driven by social media, YouTube, and free and ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) services. FAST services now reach 2.3 million Australians, growing over 40% from a year ago, led by Samsung TV Plus and LG Channels.
Social media video platforms like YouTube and TikTok continue to attract mass audiences, with 17 million Australians watching YouTube and 52% doing so daily. Casual and creator-led videos are the big drawcard, feeding into the fast-growing creator economy.
Telsyte estimates the direct-to-creator subscription market is now worth around $500 million annually, as Australians pay to support individual creators on platforms such as YouTube, Twitch, Patreon, and Substack.
Music and Gaming Subscriptions on the Rise
Streaming music subscriptions reached 19 million by the end of June 2025, a 6% increase from the previous year, supported by population growth and bundled access. Australia’s top streaming music providers include Spotify, Google, and Apple Music, with Amazon Music usage rising as part of the Amazon Prime subscription.
Games-related subscriptions also grew, reaching 9.7 million by the end of June 2025, up 7% year-on-year. This growth was fueled by a revitalized console cycle, energized by the Nintendo Switch 2 launch and the increasing popularity of handheld consoles.
Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass remains the leader in games-related subscriptions, as consumers embrace the play-anywhere, anytime subscription model. Interest in cloud gaming remains high, with over one million Australians using services like Microsoft’s Xbox Cloud Gaming and GeForce Now.
Telsyte anticipates stronger growth in the coming years as Xbox Cloud Gaming exits beta and expands across more plan tiers and devices, alongside potential local availability of Amazon Luna.
