admin A recent study assessed the volume of OTT viewership in the course of the bygone year. The report suggests that the number of streaming service subscriptions passed 1 billion worldwide for the first time in 2020, highlighting the massive growth in Hollywood’s direct-to-consumer business, which was a result of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions that circumscribed prospects of theatre releases.
Evaluating Trends
According to a report released by the Motion Picture Association on the theatrical and home entertainment market, online video subscriptions soared by 26% to 1.1 billion last year. The Washington, D.C.-based lobbying group represents the legacy Hollywood studios and Netflix. The report released stated that this expansive increase in online streaming memberships was a by-product of both the Covid-19 pandemic as well as the legacy networks -like Disney, Apple TV+ and others- significantly investing in their own OTT platforms. Moreover, Amazon and Netflix also contributed to this boost by releasing a variegated range of original content in the form of films and shows.
The same trend has also been reflected in the award nominations for the by-gone year. A total of 47 Oscar nominations were secured by Netflix and Amazon Studios for the content released last year. The global consumer spending on home entertainment exploded, growing 23% to $68.8 billion, thanks to online viewing. The digital home entertainment market increased 33% in the U.S. and 30% internationally, according to the MPA report.The global box office sales plummeted during the same period by a whopping 72%.
Overall Situation of the Entertainment Market
However, assessing the overall performance of the entertainment sector in the Covid times, the situation still remained bleak. Though the streaming surge helped make up for some of the declines in box office attendance, the combined theatrical and home entertainment market still shrank. The worldwide total for 2020 was $80.8 billion, an 18% decrease from a year earlier. The MPA’s report did not include the pay-TV industry.Moreover, far fewer movies were released in theaters as studios delayed their big pictures to 2021, sold them to streaming services or sent them directly to their own online platforms.
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