Sports programming sees highest growth rate on SVOD platforms

The availability of streaming content across the leading global subscription video-on-demand platforms increased by 5 percent from February to May, according to a quarterly update from Gracenote, a Nielsen business unit focused on content data.

The update tracks TV shows, movies and sports programming across Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, Disney+, Netflix and Paramount+.

The five services added approximately 4,500 unique titles during the second quarter of 2025, bringing the total catalog size to new highs.

Among these platforms, Netflix recorded the largest increase in available content, growing its offering by 18.2 percent. This expansion raised Netflix’s share of total titles to 20.1 percent, up from 17.9 percent the previous quarter.

Apple TV+ grew its catalog by 3.7 percent, followed by Amazon Prime Video at 3.2 percent. Disney+ and Paramount+ reported more modest increases of 1.6 percent and 1 percent, respectively.

Sports programming saw the most pronounced growth by content category, expanding 7.8 percent quarter over quarter. This growth rate was nearly double that of movie content and exceeded the 6.9 percent growth seen in TV programming. Gracenote’s analysis found that Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ and Netflix collectively host 92 percent of all sports programming available on the tracked services. Sports titles include live games, sports news, highlight compilations and documentaries.

Gracenote chief product officer Bill Michels said the trend points to ongoing shifts in how streaming services compete and differentiate through content.

“Regardless of program type or any other attribute, effective content discovery helps streamers connect viewers to the entertainment they’ll enjoy most and get the most value out of each of the assets in their catalogs,” Michels said in a statement.

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The findings were published through the Gracenote Data Hub, a platform that offers visualizations and insights into content availability, genre distribution, regional origins, exclusivity, and mood trends. The Data Hub aggregates metadata from over 260 streaming catalogs, covering more than 40 million titles across 35 languages and over 80 countries.

The report indicates that as overall content volumes grow, the landscape of connected TV apps and content distributors continues to shift. Gracenote said this dynamic environment increases the importance of reliable metadata and content analytics for video services, advertisers and content owners making decisions around licensing, distribution and audience engagement.