Ampere: SVOD to overtake box office revenues next year

Subscription over-the-top video revenues will overtake box office revenues globally in 2019 as SVOD continues to grow in all regions, according to Ampere Analysis.

The research firm predicts that global OTT revenues will reach US$46 billion next year while cinema revenues will come in at just under US$40 billion, noting a theatrical slowdown in North America and Western Europe.

Ampere claims that subscription OTT revenues surpassed theatrical revenues in the US in 2017, with the same expected to happen in the UK by the end of 2018 and in China in 2019, with higher ticket prices linked to lower cinema attendance.

“Our analysis of consumers in 15 markets reveals that although there are differences in the cost of cinema attendance by country, there’s clearly an appetite for content among some consumers whether that be on the big screen, or a smaller one,” said Ampere Analysis senior analyst, Toby Holleran.

“The key for cinema is to understand that while SVOD subscribers are more avid cinema goers, this may not always be the case. Therefore, the shared experience of watching a film on the big screen must remain an enticing – and realistically priced – one.”

According to the research, Mexico is the cheapest country to go and see a film at US$2.50 per-ticket and also has the highest attendance at 3.3 admissions on average per year.

This compares to 1.5 admissions per-year in France where it costs roughly US$8 to see a film, and less than a single cinema trip per year in Scandinavia where tickets cost upwards of US$13.

The two markets with the lowest cinema attendance were Japan, where cinema tickets were found to be almost double average SVOD price, and Germany where they were around 50% higher.

However, in all the markets surveyed, SVOD subscribers were more avid cinema-goers than non-SVOD subscribers. In nine out of 15 markets, SVOD subscribers said they go to the cinema at least twice as frequently as non-subscribers.

The research looked at 15 international markets including Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, the US and UK.

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