Global OTT TV revenues pass US$17bn a year

Global OTT revenues increased by US$17 billion last year, according to research by Digital TV Research.

Global online TV episode and movie revenues reached US$68 billion in 2018, climbing from US$51 billion in 2017 and up by US$30 billion on 2016, according to the research outfit

Of the 138 countries covered in the OTT TCV and Video Databook, the top five countries accounted for 71% of the global revenues in 2018. OTT revenues exceeded US$1 billion in 10 countries last year, according to the research.

Subscription video-on-demand became the largest OTT revenue source in 2014 when it overtook advertising-supported VOD. SVOD’s share reached 53% in 2018. SVOD revenues climbed by US$11 billion in 2018 to US$36 billion – up by 44% in the year. AVOD revenues increased by KUS$5 billion in 2018 to take its total to US$22 billion, according to the research.

Simon Murray, Principal Analyst at Digital TV Research, said: “The US added $6.5 billion in revenues in 2018, with China up by $3.6 billion. Therefore, the US and China were together responsible for more than half the world’s additional revenues in 2018.”