EU Commission publishes the second edition of the European Media Industry Outlook

4 September 2025

In September, the European Commission published the second edition of the Media Industry Outlook, a report covering consumer and industry trends, technology developments, AI adoption, and skills gaps. The findings is based on market analyses and a consumer survey across media sectors.

The report finds that the EU audiovisual market remains the second largest in the world, generating 22% of the global revenues, while the US leads with 49%.

In Europe, three non-EU streamers continue to lead the Subscription Video on Demand (SVoD) market despite European SVoD providers – mainly broadcasters – now account for 16% of revenues. Meanwhile, the SVoD sector is being overtaken by the growth of video-sharing platforms such as Youtube, which attract almost as many views as the SVoD sector. For its part, the cinema sector continues its recovery towards pre-COVID-19 levels.

Between 2019 and 2024, the production spending of broadcasters and streamers has increased, while the number of series produced actually fell after the ‘peak TV’ year of 2022 – showcasing the rise of production budgets. European theatrical films rely heavily on public intervention, including direct public subsidies and production incentives.

Despite higher production spending, EU works continues to trail behind US counterparts, which dominate both SVoD and cinema audiences. On SVoD, US titles make up 51% of catalogues but 61% of viewing, while EU works represent 20% of catalogues and just 16% of consumption. In cinemas, EU films reached 29% of ticket sales versus 66% for US films. Spanish series perform well globally on SVoD, and French films benefit from strong domestic demand.

Generative Artificial Intelligence in audiovisual is expanding rapidly, with global revenues projected to hit EUR 48 billion by 2028 at an 85% annual growth rate. In the EU, AI adoption in the sector rose from 21% in 2023 to 39%.