North America remains global VOD leader

The cumulative revenues from video-on-demand services in Europe totaled US$1.11 billion (€773 million) last year, according to IMS Research. That compares with the US total of US$1.98 billion.


Looking ahead, IMS forecasts that North America will remain the leader in terms of VOD revenues. It will take 33.1% of global revenues by 2016, while western Europe will account for 25.7%. The largest individual countries will be the US, Japan, Canada, the UK and South Korea.


The emerging markets will also be substantial VOD revenue earners. The three regions combined, but excluding Japan and South Korea, are forecast to generate US$2.4 billion in VOD revenues in 2016. Anna Hunt, principal analyst and report author, said, “Pay TV operators in emerging markets throughout Latin America, eastern Europe and Asia Pacific are also deploying VOD although most services are just launching and content libraries are not as extensive as in Europe and North America.”