Weather 
Published on
From binge-watching weekend drama series on Netflix or streaming live football matches on DAZN, nearly one in three people across the European Union now pay a recurring monthly fee just to watch films, series, or live sports online.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
New data released by Eurostat shows that 32.7% of internet users across the bloc held a paid streaming subscription in 2025.
But how much Europeans actually open their wallets for digital content varies dramatically depending on the country they call home.
When breaking down the numbers by member state, a stark geographical split emerges: Ireland and Denmark lead the rankings by a wide margin, with 63.9% and 61.1% of internet users respectively paying for video and sports services such as Amazon Prime and Disney+, closely followed by the Netherlands at 59.2%.
At the other end of the spectrum, willingness to pay for streaming services drops significantly.
Bulgaria recorded the lowest adoption rate in the European Union at just 9.3%, followed by Slovenia (13.7%), Latvia (16.7%), and Lithuania (17.4%), creating a massive digital divide across the continent.
Beyond audiovisual entertainment, the data reveals clear differences in the popularity of alternative subscription sectors.
Audio platforms covering music streaming and podcasts on apps like YouTube Premium and Spotify count 23.0% of EU internet users as paying subscribers.
Traditional reads such as online news websites, digital newspapers, and magazines lag far behind at 7.2%, while interactive cloud gaming subscriptions like Xbox Game Pass trail at the bottom with 6.1%.
As digital services continue to anchor modern household routines, these figures highlight a deeply fragmented digital landscape across Europe.
Subscription services hit with lawsuits
Despite their apparent popularity in certain countries, subscription services in the EU have also come under fire from customers in recent months.
A Dutch consumer group is suing Netflix over its subscription price increases of up to 75% since 2017. It put the potential damages at up to €673 million.
It follows similar cases elsewhere in Europe, such as a court in Rome ruling in April that Netflix’s price increases in Italy were illegal. The streaming platform is appealing against the decision.
Various courts in Germany have also ruled in favour of consumers in parallel legal battles, while another in Spain is still ongoing and another in Austria concluded in an out-of-court settlement on compensation.
Read the full article here
