December capped off a pivotal year for Australian streaming, as seasonal viewing patterns intersected with major structural shifts across the local media landscape. Festive programming, premium films, and high-profile series competed for attention at a time when audiences were already highly engaged, while changes in ownership, distribution, and audience reach quietly reshaped the backdrop. In a market defined by choice and fragmentation, visibility during this period offered a clear read on momentum heading into 2026. The December AU Streamer of the Month report highlights which streamers translated that environment into the strongest on-screen presence.
Family-friendly titles and festive specials surfaced repeatedly across connected TV environments, with streamers leaning into shared viewing moments to maintain prominence. Paramount+ prioritised younger audiences with holiday-friendly content, while locally relevant programming on services such as 9Now and ABC iview reinforced the continued strength of free-to-air streaming in Australian homes. How these approaches shaped repeat exposure is explored in the December AU Streamer of the Month report.
As the month closed, film releases increasingly set the pace for visibility across Australian screens. Franchise titles and premium films secured sustained exposure across multiple devices, with releases such as F1: The Movie and One Battle After Another maintaining momentum through consistent placement. Big-budget features and family favourites dominated home screens across Google TV, Fire TV, and operator environments, underscoring how end-of-year movie viewing remains a key battleground in Australia – even during the height of summer. Alongside this, integration plays and on-device promotions created new opportunities for both local broadcasters and global streamers to extend reach beyond app-based discovery.
Beyond the screen, the wider industry sent clear signals. Consolidation at the broadcaster level, record audience reach for public service media, and continued growth in streaming-led production investment all pointed to a market in transition, where scale, funding, and distribution models are being actively reshaped.
So which streamers finished the year with momentum, which titles held attention, and how did Australia’s evolving media landscape influence December’s outcomes? Full rankings, device-level analysis, and major market developments are available in the December AU Streamer of the Month report. Rather than novelty alone, December reinforced that success in Australian streaming is increasingly defined by how consistently and effectively content is surfaced during periods of peak audience attention.
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