Global Streaming and AVOD Deal-Making: Regional Expansion, Licensing, and New Windows

The global streaming and AVOD landscape continues to redefine how films are monetized, distributed, and valued. In a telling example, AVOD platform wedotv recently signed a multi-territory licensing agreement with New Regency, acquiring over 80 films for distribution across the UK, Italy, the DACH region, Benelux, and the Nordics. Deals like this are becoming the new normal—evidence of how regional markets are increasingly shaping the global film economy.

Market analysts project the global movies and entertainment sector will double from roughly US$101 billion in 2024 to more than US$200 billion by 2033, reflecting a healthy annual growth rate of nearly 8 percent. Streaming adoption, digital consumption, and new licensing frameworks are fueling this expansion.

What This Signals

Film licensing and windowing are evolving from a model of exclusivity toward more flexible, multi-territory ecosystems. For producers, financiers, and line producers, this means engaging earlier with regional AVOD and FAST platforms, not just the major subscription-based streamers.

Streaming is also narrowing the gap between theatrical and broadcast distribution. Films originally conceived for theatrical release are often financed, pre-sold, or monetized through direct-to-digital regional deals.

The business is now global, but its dynamics are increasingly local. A theatrical shortfall in the U.S. is not necessarily fatal if the film can perform well across regional streaming windows. Conversely, strong AVOD engagement in key territories can justify smaller, strategically calibrated theatrical campaigns in North America or Asia.

For instance, a mid-budget thriller underperforming in U.S. cinemas could still find profitability through ad-supported distribution in Europe, Latin America, and India. Similarly, a locally resonant comedy targeting Spanish-speaking audiences could monetize more effectively via regional AVOD networks than through a global SVOD release.

Film Revenue and Window Trends to Watch

• Integrate AVOD/FAST revenue streams early. When modeling budgets or drafting finance plans, include multi-territory AVOD and FAST platform deals as viable revenue lines, not just domestic theatrical or PVOD income.

• Adopt a territorial mindset. Advise clients to design acquisition and distribution strategies territory by territory. A single synchronized global rollout is no longer the default path to profitability.

• Localize packaging. Films are tailored with region-specific marketing materials, such as localized subtitles, artwork and promotional hooks, to enhance their appeal to individual AVOD platforms.

• Leverage non-U.S. success stories. Strong regional performance data can attract co-producers, justify smaller domestic releases, or even reopen theatrical opportunities post-streaming.

  
  

What to Watch

• The extent to which films launch “streaming-first” in international markets, bypassing theatrical release altogether.

• Whether studios and streamers begin to establish minimum performance thresholds for regional AVOD licensing—and how that might reshape financing models.

• How aggressively regional streaming platforms pursue catalog licensing versus commissioning original content.

  
  

For filmmakers operating outside the tight confines of the U.S. theatrical system, these trends represent opportunity rather than disruption. The film landscape is no longer a zero-sum game centered on one market or one release window. Instead, it is a distributed network offering multiple entry points and pathways to success.

As global supply and demand evolve, creative entrepreneurs can design film strategies built on two complementary pillars: global niche and regional reach. In this new configuration, success depends not on “winning the U.S. box office,” but on intelligently aligning content with the right regions, formats, and audiences worldwide.