David Farnor | On 08, Nov 2017

One in three UK households now subscribe to one or more SVoD services, according to new research, as streaming continues to become more and more mainstream.

According to the research – Digital Content Business Models: OTT & Operator Strategies 2017-2022 – 35 per cent of UK households now subscribe to one or more SVoD services, a proportion which rises to 76 per cent in the US. Juniper concludes that the trend towards multiple subscriptions per household was increasing, leading to a greater opportunity for content aggregation and curation.

Overall, global consumer spend on digital content is expected to reach $202bn in 2018, up by 10 per cent on this year’s total of $184bn. The rise of subscription services is a major driver of that growth, with major OTT (Over The Top) players, such as Netflix and Amazon, committing budgets of more than $5bn to original content over the coming year. Meanwhile, Apple and Facebook are each expected to invest at least $1bn for the first time.

There are also indications that OTT players may be poised to disrupt the market for major sporting rights. Although Facebook failed in its recent bid for the worldwide IPL (Indian Premier League) cricket rights, the report claims that either Amazon or Facebook will bid for, and probably win, at least one major live rights package in the forthcoming auction for England’s Premier League football games.

“Amazon is in a particularly strong position here, because sports packages could be bundled within Amazon Prime, with the additional retail spend generated by new customers significantly reducing the scale of net additions required to recoup the rights costs,” suggests research author Dr Windsor Holden.

The research also reveals that both telcos and OTT players are increasingly seeking to augment their offerings with the acquisition of eSports rights, and suggested that ultimately players might evolve from creating their own teams to developing and owning eSports tournaments.

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