Despite a continuously evolving and challenging landscape, the overall US video and pay-TV market is in good shape with healthy growth leading to a market worth $140 billion by the end of 2018, according to Futuresource Consulting.The analyst’s latest video entertainment report notes that the US is a global leader in digital adoption, continuing to have a well-balanced market overall, with an array of formats, platforms, services and business models that is unsurpassed globally. It believes that over the last 12 months the market was characterised by many notable announcements and initiatives such as the introduction of Movies Anywhere, increased availability of 4K/Ultra HD content and renewed discussion surrounding digital movie release dates.
Futuresource also believes that the renewed push on direct-to consumer-services, media industry acquisitions and consolidation and regularity impact from new net neutrality laws will ensure that the landscape in 2018 will continue to evolve.
In its analysis, Futuresource says that pay-TV, largely through increased ARPU rather than subscriber growth, is contributing the most to overall growth in wider video consumer spend, with subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) continuing to provide an increasingly significant contribution.
It describes the pay-TV sector as remaining immense, calculating its worth at over $100 billion in 2017, despite the challenges. It believes that cord-cutting was apparent in 2017 to a small extent, with subscriptions expected to fall by 1% once more in 2018. It noted that in the midst of cord-cutting, key multi-service operators (MSOs) have been boosted by their skinny/pay-TV lite services.
“Futuresource estimates that there are now 125 million SVOD subscriptions in the USA,” says David Sidebottom, principal analyst at Futuresource Consulting. “Although, consumer spend is still just 10% of the total pay-TV market. Further growth is expected in 2018, driven by continued steady growth in established services and the quick expansion of a plethora of less established services, with platforms such as Amazon Channels helping drive this momentum.”
Futuresource also believes that the renewed push on direct-to consumer-services, media industry acquisitions and consolidation and regularity impact from new net neutrality laws will ensure that the landscape in 2018 will continue to evolve.
In its analysis, Futuresource says that pay-TV, largely through increased ARPU rather than subscriber growth, is contributing the most to overall growth in wider video consumer spend, with subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) continuing to provide an increasingly significant contribution.
It describes the pay-TV sector as remaining immense, calculating its worth at over $100 billion in 2017, despite the challenges. It believes that cord-cutting was apparent in 2017 to a small extent, with subscriptions expected to fall by 1% once more in 2018. It noted that in the midst of cord-cutting, key multi-service operators (MSOs) have been boosted by their skinny/pay-TV lite services.
“Futuresource estimates that there are now 125 million SVOD subscriptions in the USA,” says David Sidebottom, principal analyst at Futuresource Consulting. “Although, consumer spend is still just 10% of the total pay-TV market. Further growth is expected in 2018, driven by continued steady growth in established services and the quick expansion of a plethora of less established services, with platforms such as Amazon Channels helping drive this momentum.”
