Streaming has definitively moved from niche to mainstream in Portugal. The latest wave of the BStream study by Marktest shows that more than half of residents aged 15+ now consume content through streaming platforms, a new record that confirms how central these services have become in people’s daily media habits.
In this article, we unpack the key findings from BStream (Sept–Dec 2025) and highlight what they reveal about the evolution of streaming consumption and the next phase of market maturity.
Streaming is now the default for over half of the population
According to BStream, an estimated 4.6 million residents in Portugal aged 15+ say they consume content via streaming platforms. This corresponds to 53.3% of the universe analyzed, a share that continues to climb.
- This represents a growth of 1.2 percentage points compared with the same period a year earlier.
- In absolute terms, that’s an increase of 107,000 new users entering the streaming ecosystem.
While growth is not as explosive as in the early adoption years, the trend clearly points towards continued consolidation: streaming is no longer just an option among many, it’s a core component of the media mix for Portuguese audiences.
From occasional use to daily habit
Penetration is only one part of the story. The frequency of use is also rising, underscoring how streaming is embedded in everyday routines.
- 7% of streaming users say they use these platforms every day or almost every day.
This shift matters: once streaming becomes a high-frequency behavior, it competes directly with traditional TV and other media for both time and attention. For insights and media professionals, this has several implications:
- Audience measurement must account for increasingly fragmented, on-demand behaviors.
- Content testing and creative evaluation need to consider binge-watching, cross-device journeys and personalized recommendation environments.
- Campaign planning should reflect the reality that “prime time” is now whenever the user decides to watch.
Subscription growth and the rise of multi-platform households
BStream also shows that streaming is not just about usage; it’s increasingly about paying for access.
- 1% of respondents were subscribers to at least one streaming service in the last quarter of 2025.
- This represents an increase of 1 percentage points compared with the same period the previous year.
While almost half of subscribers (46.6%) still have only one platform, stacking is clearly on the rise:
- The share of people subscribing to three platforms rose to 7%, up 1.3 percentage points.
- The share of those subscribing to four platforms increased to 8%, up 1 percentage point.
This signals a multi-platform reality, where users curate their own bundles based on:
- Content exclusivity (e.g. specific series, movies or sports)
- Genre preferences (films, series, kids’ content, documentaries)
- Household composition and shared profiles
For brands and researchers, this highlights the need to:
- Understand which platforms dominate which audiences (age, life stage, interests).
- Map overlap and complementarity between platforms when planning campaigns.
- Explore how multi-subscription behaviors influence discoverability and content loyalty.
Early signs of maturity: softer intention to add new services
Despite growth in both usage and subscriptions, BStream points to a slight cooling in future subscription intentions:
- The share of people intending to subscribe to a new streaming service in the next three months stands at 2%.
- This is a decrease of 0.7 percentage points compared with the same period a year earlier.
This suggests that the Portuguese streaming market may be entering a maturity phase:
- Many users already have the platforms they feel they need.
- Economic pressures and subscription fatigue may make new sign-ups more selective.
- Churn, trial-based usage and periodic switching between services could become more common than constant additions.
For the industry, this means a strategic shift:
- From acquisition and aggressive sign-up growth
- To retention, differentiation and perceived value (content libraries, user experience, pricing and bundles).
What these trends mean for insights professionals
For professionals working in market research, analytics and media insights, these findings from BStream open several lines of action:
- Segmenting the streaming audience
- Distinguish between non-users, occasional users, daily users, single-platform subscribers and multi-platform stackers.
- Build personas that reflect not just who they are, but how and why they stream.
- Rethinking media planning and effectiveness
- Integrate streaming into cross-media measurement frameworks, recognizing its growing weight in total video consumption.
- Evaluate campaign reach and frequency across both linear and streaming environments.
- Understanding value drivers and churn risk
- Explore what makes users stay with a platform (content, UX, price, recommendations, family use).
- Identify the early signals of subscription fatigue or churn in a market that shows signs of saturation.
- Designing research for on-demand behaviors
- Adapt survey and passive measurement methods to capture time-shifted, personalized and device-agnostic
- Consider moment-based and journey-based approaches rather than traditional “programme schedule” thinking.
Final thoughts
The latest BStream results from Marktest confirm that streaming has reached a new high in Portugal, both in terms of penetration and intensity of use. At the same time, softer intention to adopt new services hints at a more competitive, mature market, where understanding users’ choices, and the trade-offs behind them, becomes critical.
For organizations operating in media, entertainment or advertising, robust, up-to-date insights into streaming behavior are no longer optional. They are essential to making informed decisions on content, partnerships, pricing and communication.
If you would like to know more about the BStream study or explore how these trends might impact your brand or category, feel free contact Marktest.
