European streaming data reveals concentrated viewing patterns

The European streaming landscape presents a paradox of choice that ultimately narrows to concentrated consumption patterns, according to comprehensive new data from the European Audiovisual Observatory. Released in 2024, the second edition of "SVOD Usage in the European Union - 2024 data" analyzed viewing behavior across Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, and HBO Max in nine countries, revealing findings that reshape understanding of audience engagement and advertising opportunity in the streaming era.

According to the European Audiovisual Observatory, the most striking discovery centers on viewing concentration. Less than 0.1% of works account for approximately 14% of total viewing time across surveyed platforms. This extreme concentration fundamentally challenges traditional advertising models that assume broader content distribution patterns.

The research, conducted by Christian Grece and Jean-Augustin Tran from the Observatory's Department for Market Information, examined viewing habits across Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and Sweden from January through September 2024. Digital i provided VOD-Ratings data while JustWatch supplied catalog information for the Creative Europe Programme-supported analysis.

"The vast majority of usage is for live-action fiction series," the report states. "SVOD usage is much more geared toward TV and SVOD series (78% of viewing time) than films (22%) and, regardless of programme type, much more toward live-action content (88% of viewing time) than documentaries and animation (12%)."

This data transforms connected TV advertising strategies by identifying where audiences actually spend their time rather than what content providers make available. For advertisers navigating the streaming landscape, these patterns indicate that successful campaigns must target the minority of content that captures majority audience attention.

Live-Action Fiction Dominates Viewing Patterns Across All Markets

The research reveals live-action fiction series command 78% of total viewing time compared to films at 22%. Within this already dominant category, live-action content captures 88% of audience attention, relegating documentaries and animation to just 12% of viewing minutes.

These patterns create specific implications for programmatic advertising investments. Advertisers seeking maximum reach must understand that audience attention concentrates heavily within specific genre categories. The data suggests that advertising strategies focused on live-action series programming will encounter substantially larger audiences than those targeting documentary or animated content.

The concentration extends beyond genre preferences to individual title performance. "Viewing is concentrated on a small number of titles," the report emphasizes. "In contrast to the sheer volume of content in the catalogues, SVOD usage is highly concentrated, with less than 0,1% of works accounting for about 14% of total viewing time. Both film and series are subject to a high concentration of viewing."

This finding directly impacts streaming television advertising placement strategies. While platforms maintain extensive content libraries numbering in the thousands of titles, actual audience engagement focuses on a remarkably small percentage of available programming.

European Content Performance Reveals Geographic Advertising Opportunities

The analysis uncovers significant disparities in European content consumption patterns that create both challenges and opportunities for advertising campaigns. "Wider European content accounts for 25% of SVOD usage, with 16% attributed to EU content," according to the findings. "EU films demonstrate a comparatively stronger performance than EU series: EU films account for 22% of film viewing, compared to only 14% for EU series."

This performance differential between films and series within European content suggests advertising strategies should consider content type when targeting specific geographic markets. European films achieve nearly twice the audience share of European series, indicating stronger cross-border appeal for cinematic content compared to television programming.

The research reveals additional complexity in European content consumption. "In 2024, EU national content made up a slightly higher share (55%) of EU content viewing than EU non-national content, while having a lower share in SVOD catalogues than EU non-national content." This pattern demonstrates audience preference for domestically produced content even when platforms offer more extensive international European programming.

Geographic variations become more pronounced when examining individual country performance. "SVOD usage does not reflect the composition of SVOD catalogues," the report states. "In all but two countries in the sample (Poland and Spain), EU content (especially non-national content) is proportionally less watched than its proportionate share within the catalogues."

These geographic content preferences create specific challenges for pan-European advertising campaigns. Connected TV advertising budgets increasingly flow toward streaming platforms, but content consumption patterns suggest regionalized approaches may achieve better audience alignment than continent-wide strategies.

Platform Diversity Masks Underlying Consumption Uniformity

The study examined four major streaming platforms: Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, and HBO Max. Despite different content strategies and target demographics across these services, viewing concentration patterns remain consistently narrow across all platforms examined.

This uniformity suggests that audience behavior transcends platform-specific content curation efforts. Regardless of whether platforms employ algorithm-driven recommendations, editorial selections, or franchise-based programming strategies, viewers consistently concentrate their attention on a small percentage of available content.

For CTV campaign planning, this means advertising effectiveness depends more on identifying popular content than on platform selection alone. While platform demographics and targeting capabilities remain important, the underlying viewing concentration patterns appear consistent across major streaming services.

The research methodology employed deterministic viewing measurement rather than survey-based estimates. Digital i VOD-Ratings provided actual consumption data, offering higher accuracy for understanding audience engagement than traditional research approaches that rely on viewer self-reporting or sampling methodologies.

Platform-Specific Analysis: The Big Four Streaming Services

Netflix: Content Volume Leader with Concentrated Engagement

Netflix represents the most established streaming platform in the European markets analyzed, maintaining the largest content catalog among the four services examined. According to the European Audiovisual Observatory data, Netflix's extensive library demonstrates the same viewing concentration patterns observed across all platforms, where vast content availability does not translate to distributed audience engagement. The platform's algorithm-driven recommendation system, despite sophisticated personalization capabilities, cannot overcome the fundamental audience behavior that concentrates viewing on select titles regardless of catalog size.

Netflix's content strategy emphasizes original programming development alongside licensed international content, creating a diverse catalog that spans multiple genres and cultural origins. However, the research findings indicate that this content diversity does not necessarily drive proportional audience engagement across all programming categories. Live-action fiction series dominate viewing patterns on Netflix consistent with overall platform trends, suggesting that audience preferences transcend individual platform content curation strategies.

The platform's global content distribution model creates particular opportunities for cross-border audience analysis within the European market. Netflix's investment in European original content production aims to address local cultural preferences while maintaining international appeal, though the research indicates persistent audience preference for national content over pan-European programming even within Netflix's carefully curated international offerings.

Amazon Prime Video: Integration Strategy with Selective Advertising

Amazon Prime Video operates under a unique business model that combines streaming services with broader Amazon Prime membership benefits, creating different audience engagement patterns compared to standalone streaming platforms. The platform's integration with Amazon's e-commerce ecosystem provides additional data sources for understanding audience behavior beyond pure viewing metrics, though the European Audiovisual Observatory study focuses specifically on viewing time rather than broader engagement patterns.

Prime Video's content strategy emphasizes premium original productions alongside selective licensing of high-profile international content. The platform's approach to content curation differs from Netflix's volume-based strategy, instead focusing on fewer, higher-budget productions designed to drive Prime membership subscriptions. This strategic difference creates interesting implications for advertising placement, as concentrated viewing patterns may align more closely with Prime Video's selective content approach.

The platform's advertising capabilities include both traditional video advertisements and innovative formats that leverage Amazon's retail data for enhanced targeting precision. Prime Video's integration with Amazon's advertising technology stack enables sophisticated audience targeting based on shopping behavior, demographic data, and viewing preferences, creating unique opportunities for advertisers seeking to connect streaming engagement with purchase intent data.

Disney+: Franchise-Driven Content with Family Demographics

Disney+ represents a distinctive content strategy focused heavily on established intellectual property and family-oriented programming, creating specific viewing concentration patterns that differ from general entertainment platforms. The platform's content library centers on Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and National Geographic properties, providing a more focused catalog compared to the broad entertainment approaches of other major streaming services.

The research findings indicate that Disney+'s franchise-based content strategy may benefit from natural audience concentration patterns, as established intellectual properties often generate higher engagement levels compared to new or unfamiliar content. Disney's approach aligns with the observed phenomenon where small percentages of content capture disproportionate audience attention, though the platform's family focus creates different demographic engagement patterns compared to general entertainment services.

Disney+'s advertising implementation varies by geographic market, with some regions offering ad-supported subscription tiers while others maintain subscription-only models. The platform's family-oriented content creates specific brand safety advantages for advertisers seeking premium, appropriate content environments, though audience concentration patterns still apply within Disney's curated content ecosystem.

HBO Max: Premium Content Positioning with Adult Demographics

HBO Max positions itself as a premium content platform emphasizing high-quality original productions and exclusive entertainment programming designed for adult audiences. The platform's content strategy focuses on critically acclaimed series, blockbuster films, and sophisticated entertainment that commands premium pricing and subscriber loyalty. This positioning creates distinct viewing patterns within the broader streaming landscape analyzed in the European Audiovisual Observatory study.

The platform's emphasis on premium content quality rather than catalog volume aligns with research findings showing that audience attention concentrates on select titles regardless of overall content availability. HBO Max's strategy of investing heavily in fewer, higher-quality productions may prove more effective in capturing concentrated audience attention compared to volume-based approaches employed by other platforms.

HBO Max's advertising capabilities focus on premium brand environments and sophisticated audience targeting methods designed to match the platform's upscale content positioning. The service's emphasis on adult demographics creates opportunities for advertisers seeking to reach affluent, engaged audiences within premium content environments, though the same viewing concentration patterns apply across all demographic segments according to the research findings.

Cross-Platform Viewing Behavior Consistency

Despite significant differences in content strategy, business models, and target demographics across these four platforms, the European Audiovisual Observatory research reveals remarkably consistent viewing concentration patterns. This consistency suggests that audience behavior transcends platform-specific factors, indicating fundamental consumer preferences that persist regardless of content curation approaches or recommendation algorithm sophistication.

The uniformity of viewing concentration across Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, and HBO Max demonstrates that successful advertising strategies must focus on identifying popular content rather than platform selection alone. While platform demographics and targeting capabilities remain important considerations, the underlying audience engagement patterns appear consistent across major streaming services operating in European markets.

Cross-platform measurement becomes essential for understanding total audience reach when viewers engage with multiple services simultaneously. The research methodology employed by the European Audiovisual Observatory provides a foundation for developing comprehensive measurement frameworks that account for audience behavior across fragmented streaming environments where individual viewers maintain subscriptions to multiple platforms.

Platform-Specific Advertising Implications

Each platform's unique characteristics create specific opportunities and challenges for advertising implementation. Netflix's extensive catalog and global reach provide broad audience access but require sophisticated content selection strategies to identify high-engagement programming. Amazon Prime Video's e-commerce integration offers enhanced targeting capabilities but operates within a more complex business model that balances multiple objectives beyond pure streaming engagement.

Disney+'s family focus creates brand safety advantages and demographic specificity but may limit advertising category appropriateness for certain product types. HBO Max's premium positioning attracts affluent audiences but operates within higher-cost environments that may not suit all advertising budgets or campaign objectives.

Understanding these platform-specific characteristics while recognizing consistent viewing concentration patterns enables more effective advertising strategy development. Successful campaigns must balance platform selection based on audience demographics and targeting capabilities with content placement strategies that account for concentrated viewing behaviors observed across all major streaming services.

Technical Implications for Programmatic Advertising Infrastructure

The extreme viewing concentration creates specific technical challenges for programmatic advertising platforms. Traditional programmatic systems designed for broad content distribution must adapt to scenarios where the majority of audience engagement occurs within a minority of available inventory.

Demand forecasting becomes more complex when audience attention concentrates so heavily on select titles. Programmatic platforms need sophisticated prediction algorithms to identify which content will attract substantial viewership before audience patterns become apparent through actual consumption data.

The research timeframe of January through September 2024 captured viewing patterns during significant streaming market maturation. This nine-month analysis window provides sufficient data depth while avoiding potential seasonal distortions that might occur with shorter measurement periods, offering more reliable foundation for advertising planning purposes.

Content categorization systems used in the analysis follow established European regulatory frameworks, ensuring consistent measurement across different countries and platforms. This standardization enables accurate cross-market comparisons essential for international advertising campaign development.

Measurement Methodology Advances Industry Understanding

The partnership between the European Audiovisual Observatory, Digital i, and JustWatch demonstrates industry collaboration in developing comprehensive streaming measurement capabilities. This cooperation model addresses enhanced transparency requirements that advertisers increasingly demand from streaming platforms.

Continuous monitoring throughout the measurement period rather than periodic sampling provides comprehensive insights into viewing pattern variations that might occur seasonally or in response to content release schedules. This methodological approach offers more reliable data for advertising planning than snapshot-based analysis.

The inclusion of catalog data from JustWatch alongside viewing data from Digital i VOD-Ratings creates a complete picture of content availability versus actual consumption. This comprehensive approach enables analysis of audience preferences relative to available options rather than consumption patterns in isolation.

Brand Safety Considerations in Concentrated Viewing Environments

Viewing concentration patterns create both opportunities and risks for brand safety management. With audience attention focused on select titles, advertisers need comprehensive content analysis to ensure their placements align with appropriate programming contexts while maximizing reach potential.

The research reveals that content popularity does not necessarily correlate with content type or origin, meaning brand safety assessments must evaluate individual titles rather than relying on broad categorical assumptions. Popular content spans various genres and origins, requiring granular analysis for effective brand safety management.

Addressable advertising capabilities become more valuable when audience attention concentrates on specific content. The ability to target individual viewers within popular programming offers opportunities for precise brand messaging while maintaining broad reach potential.

Cross-Platform Measurement Challenges and Solutions

Audience fragmentation across multiple streaming services creates measurement complexity for advertisers seeking to understand total reach and frequency across streaming environments. The comprehensive platform coverage in this study provides a foundation for addressing these cross-platform measurement challenges.

The nine-country analysis scope covers major European advertising markets, representing substantial population segments and economic activity. This geographic coverage provides sufficient market representation for drawing broader conclusions about European streaming behavior and advertising implications.

Technical implementation requirements for cross-platform measurement include standardized audience identification methods, consistent content categorization systems, and coordinated reporting frameworks. The European Audiovisual Observatory study demonstrates how industry collaboration can address these technical challenges.

Economic Implications for Content Investment and Advertising Revenue

The viewing concentration findings have significant implications for content investment strategies by streaming platforms. If less than 0.1% of content captures 14% of viewing time, platform economics must balance content diversity against audience engagement reality.

For advertisers, this concentration creates both scarcity and opportunity. Limited high-performing content means premium placement costs for popular programming, but also ensures efficient audience delivery for campaigns that successfully identify and target concentrated viewing patterns.

Publisher monetization strategies must adapt to viewing concentration reality. While platforms maintain extensive content libraries to attract diverse audiences, advertising revenue optimization requires focus on the minority of content that captures majority audience attention.

Regional Content Strategy Implications

The preference for national content over non-national European content suggests advertising campaigns should consider local cultural preferences when developing creative strategies and content placement approaches. Despite European Union integration efforts, viewing patterns indicate persistent preference for domestically produced content.

Poland and Spain represent exceptions to the general pattern of EU content underperformance relative to catalog representation. These markets demonstrate that cross-border European content can achieve audience success under specific circumstances, though the research does not identify specific factors driving this exceptional performance.

The 55% to 45% split between EU national and non-national content viewing indicates that domestic content maintains slight preference advantages, but significant audiences exist for international European programming. This balance suggests opportunities for both localized and pan-European advertising approaches.

Future Research and Industry Development Needs

The European Audiovisual Observatory study represents the second edition of this analysis, indicating ongoing commitment to tracking streaming consumption patterns over time. Future research iterations will provide valuable longitudinal data for understanding how viewing patterns evolve as streaming markets mature.

Additional research needs include examination of viewing pattern drivers, analysis of content characteristics that predict audience success, and investigation of geographic factors influencing content preferences. Understanding why certain content achieves concentrated viewing could improve both content development and advertising targeting strategies.

The Creative Europe Programme support for this research demonstrates recognition of streaming media's growing importance in European cultural and economic policy. Future policy development will likely incorporate these viewing pattern insights into regulatory frameworks and industry support programs.

Advertising Technology Evolution Requirements

Current advertising technology infrastructure must evolve to accommodate viewing concentration realities. Traditional systems designed for broad content distribution need enhancement to handle scenarios where majority engagement occurs within minority inventory.

Real-time bidding systems require more sophisticated audience prediction capabilities when dealing with concentrated viewing patterns. The ability to identify potential audience concentrations before they become apparent through consumption data provides competitive advantages for programmatic advertising platforms.

Identity resolution challenges become more complex in concentrated viewing environments where multiple viewers may engage with identical content across different platforms and time periods. Advanced audience identification methods become essential for accurate measurement and optimization.

Strategic Recommendations for Marketing Professionals

Marketing professionals should restructure their streaming advertising strategies around viewing concentration realities rather than content availability assumptions. Focus should shift toward identifying and targeting the minority of content that captures majority audience attention.

Budget allocation strategies should account for premium pricing likely to emerge around popular content while maintaining flexibility to capitalize on emerging audience concentration patterns. The dynamic nature of content popularity requires adaptive campaign management approaches.

Cross-platform measurement capabilities become essential for understanding total audience reach and frequency in fragmented streaming environments. Investment in measurement technology and methodologies should receive priority equal to creative development and media buying capabilities.

Geographic content preferences indicate that pan-European campaigns may require localized adaptation even within the integrated European Union market. Cultural preferences persist despite regulatory harmonization, demanding nuanced approaches to international campaign development.

Timeline

• January 2024: European Audiovisual Observatory begins comprehensive data collection across Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and Sweden
• January 2024: Amazon introduces enhanced content transparency reports for streaming TV advertising
• March 2024: Data collection continues across Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, and HBO Max platforms
• September 2024: Nine-month data collection period concludes with comprehensive viewing pattern analysis
• April 2025: Disney expands biddable ad technology capabilities across streaming platforms
• April 2025: CTV market shifts force comprehensive media strategy pivots as television connectivity reaches saturation
• June 2025: Tubi streaming service surpasses 100 million users during advertising market expansion
• July 2025: Comscore announces advanced measurement partnership with HyphaMetrics for Connected TV
• 2024: European Audiovisual Observatory publishes second edition of comprehensive SVOD usage analysis

Key Terms Explained

Connected TV (CTV) Advertising

Connected TV advertising represents the fastest-growing segment within digital advertising, enabling marketers to deliver targeted video advertisements through internet-connected television devices. This advertising method combines the visual impact and premium environment of traditional television with the precision targeting and measurement capabilities of digital advertising. CTV advertising allows brands to reach cord-cutting audiences who have migrated away from traditional linear television while maintaining the high-quality viewing experience that consumers expect from television content.

Programmatic Advertising

Programmatic advertising utilizes automated technology platforms to purchase and optimize digital advertising inventory in real-time through algorithmic decision-making and data analysis. This approach enables advertisers to target specific audiences across multiple platforms simultaneously while adjusting bids and creative elements based on performance data. Programmatic systems process vast amounts of audience and performance data to match advertiser requirements with appropriate content and viewers, creating more efficient media buying processes than traditional manual purchasing methods.

Addressable Advertising

Addressable advertising technology enables broadcasters and streaming platforms to serve different advertisements to different households watching the same program simultaneously. This capability allows for household-level targeting based on demographic, behavioral, and geographic data while maintaining the premium television viewing environment. Addressable advertising bridges the gap between traditional broadcast television's broad reach and digital advertising's precise targeting capabilities, creating new opportunities for personalized messaging within linear and streaming television content.

Cross-Platform Measurement

Cross-platform measurement encompasses the methodologies and technologies used to track audience engagement and advertising effectiveness across multiple media channels and devices. This measurement approach addresses the fragmented media landscape where consumers engage with content across television, mobile, desktop, and streaming platforms throughout their daily routines. Effective cross-platform measurement requires standardized audience identification methods, consistent content categorization systems, and coordinated reporting frameworks to provide comprehensive insights into total campaign reach and frequency.

Brand Safety

Brand safety refers to the practices and technologies that ensure advertising content appears alongside appropriate, non-controversial programming that aligns with advertiser values and target audience expectations. In streaming environments, brand safety becomes more complex due to the vast amount of available content and varying content standards across different platforms and regions. Advanced brand safety solutions employ content analysis, keyword filtering, and contextual evaluation to protect brand reputation while maximizing advertising reach and effectiveness.

Audience Concentration

Audience concentration describes the phenomenon where viewer attention focuses heavily on a small percentage of available content rather than distributing evenly across all programming options. This pattern has significant implications for advertising strategy, as it means that successful campaigns must identify and target the minority of content that captures majority audience attention. Understanding audience concentration patterns enables more efficient media buying and helps advertisers optimize their investment by focusing on content that demonstrates proven audience engagement.

Real-Time Bidding (RTB)

Real-time bidding represents the automated auction process where advertising inventory is bought and sold on a per-impression basis in milliseconds as web pages load or streaming content begins. RTB systems evaluate multiple factors including audience data, content context, and campaign objectives to determine optimal bid prices for each advertising opportunity. This technology enables dynamic pricing based on supply and demand while allowing advertisers to target specific audience segments with precision timing and contextual relevance.

Content Discovery

Content discovery encompasses the processes and technologies that help viewers find programming they want to watch across the vast libraries available on streaming platforms. Research shows that viewers spend significant time navigating platform interfaces before selecting content, creating opportunities for advertisers to engage audiences during these discovery phases. Understanding content discovery patterns helps advertisers identify optimal placement opportunities and develop strategies that align with viewer behavior throughout their content selection journey.

Identity Resolution

Identity resolution refers to the technology solutions that connect user interactions across multiple devices, platforms, and touchpoints to create unified audience profiles for advertising purposes. As traditional tracking methods face privacy restrictions and technical limitations, identity resolution becomes crucial for maintaining effective audience targeting and measurement capabilities. Advanced identity resolution systems combine deterministic data matching with probabilistic modeling to maintain advertising effectiveness while respecting user privacy preferences and regulatory requirements.

Viewing Concentration Patterns

Viewing concentration patterns describe the specific ways that audience attention distributes across available content, revealing insights into consumer preferences and engagement behaviors. These patterns indicate which types of content, genres, and formats consistently attract substantial audiences versus those that receive limited attention despite availability. Understanding viewing concentration patterns enables advertisers to make informed decisions about content placement, budget allocation, and creative development strategies that align with demonstrated audience preferences rather than content availability assumptions.

Summary

Who: The European Audiovisual Observatory conducted this research through Christian Grece and Jean-Augustin Tran, TV and VOD Analysts within the Department for Market Information, with data provided by Digital i VOD-Ratings and JustWatch catalog systems.

What: A comprehensive analysis of SVOD viewing patterns across Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, and HBO Max platforms, revealing extreme viewing concentration where less than 0.1% of content captures 14% of total viewing time, with live-action fiction series dominating 78% of consumption.

When: Data collection occurred from January through September 2024, representing the second edition of this ongoing research initiative measuring streaming consumption patterns across major European markets.

Where: Analysis covered nine European Union countries including Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and Sweden, representing major streaming markets and diverse cultural preferences within the European advertising landscape.

Why: This research addresses critical gaps in understanding streaming consumption patterns for policy development, market analysis, and advertising strategy optimization, supported by the European Commission's Creative Europe Programme to inform cultural media policy and industry development decisions.