French VOD market shows rapid growth

The French video-on-demand market this year could be worth €150m, according to a new study.

The survey, by GfK and NPA Conseil in partnership with online VOD provider MySkreen, found that a decline in VOD prices had been more than compensated by an increase in views, with overall transactions in the first quarter growing by 50% in value and 70% in volume.

The study also found that 95% of VOD transactions were for TV services, with movies accounting for about three quarters of those, far ahead of TV drama, documentaries and kids shows (although Teletubbies and Tom and Jerry appeared in the top 20 titles requested in March).

NPA Conseil attributed the growth in part to the greater availability of titles, with about 26% of all commercially available films being made available on VOD services in the first five months of the year, rising to 37% of the biggest theatrical box office hits.