KOLKATA: For the first time ever, online video services have surpassed the one billion subscriber mark globally. In the pandemic hit year 2020, the overall subscriber base has reached 1.1 billion, recording a 26 per cent year-on-year growth, according to a report from Motion Picture Association.
The global home/mobile entertainment market has raked in $68.8 billion in revenue, marking a 23 per cent increase over 2019. In the United States, subscriptions have crossed 308.6 million, representing a 32 per cent growth from 2019, and the home/mobile market increased 21 per cent, reaching $30 billion.
While the global market for theatrical and home/mobile entertainment distribution fell 18 per cent to $80.8 billion, the surge in the digital entertainment market has helped partially offset the decrease in the global box office caused by theatre closures during the pandemic.
“Despite the challenges to the global economy brought on by the Covid2019 pandemic, the film television, and streaming industry has once again risen to the occasion,” said Motion Picture Association chairman and CEO Charles Rivkin.
“Streaming experienced another huge boom, with new entrants into the market and more than one billion subscriptions worldwide for the first time ever. We kept audiences connected and entertained wherever they were and whenever they desired. Theatrical and home entertainment remain two essential parts of this dynamic and iconic industry, and I am confident that movie theatres will experience a great comeback in the months ahead,” he added.
However, cable TV revenue is still larger than the online video market. Cable revenues for global industry stood at $116 billion.
55 per cent of US adults reported that their viewing of movies or shows/series through an online subscription service increased, while 46 per cent reported that their viewing via pay TV increased. More than 85 per cent of children and over 55 per cent of adults watch movies or shows/series on mobile devices.
Daily viewers of movies or shows/series on mobile devices skew more heavily towards the 18-24 and 25-39 year-old age groups, as well as the Hispanic/Latino and African-American/Black ethnicity groups.
The global box office market for all films around the world was $12 billion in 2020; Within that number, the US/Canada box office market was $2.2 billion. The top three box office markets outside the US and Canada were China ($3 billion), Japan ($1.3 billion ), and France ($500 million ).
