Australia’s streaming growth shifts toward sport and ad tiers
Data from Worldpanel by Numerator indicates that the Australian streaming market is shifting towards growth driven by live sport, real-time events, and ad-supported streaming tiers in Q1 2026. Prime Video led new paid subscriptions, followed by HBO Max and Kayo, with ad-supported tiers now used by over half of Australian VoD households and accounting for one in three new subscriber choices.
Key Takeaways
- Sport and live events accounted for up to one in three new streaming subscriptions in Q1 2026.
- More than half of Australian VoD households now use AVoD services, up from 38% a year ago.
- One in three new subscribers chose ad-supported plans in Q1 2026 as average household streaming spend fell from $52 to $49.
- Prime Video led new paid subscriptions at 16%, with HBO Max at 11% and Kayo at 10%.
- HBO Max said 42% of new subscribers joined for a single title, while its NPS doubled quarter-on-quarter to 12.
Why It Matters
Australia’s streaming market is being pulled by two concrete forces: live sport and lower-priced ad tiers. That changes acquisition math for services that used to rely more heavily on on-demand libraries, and it helps explain why Prime Video, HBO Max and Kayo are showing different growth patterns. The mix also matters for monetization: Netflix, Paramount+, HBO Max and Binge are all seeing meaningful AVoD use, while Disney+ has just launched an ad-supported tier at $9.99. Watch the share of new signups coming from sport and live events, plus the ad-tier mix across major platforms.
Read full article at worldpanelbynumerator.com
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