James R | On 27, Dec 2014

The number of UK film watchers using Wuaki.tv has surged 220 per cent this year.

The company has enjoyed “phenomenal growth” during 2014, the company has announced. The streaming site now has over 400,000 registered users in the UK – 220 per cent higher than 12 months ago. Wuaki.tv has also grown at the global level, following further expansion into Europe during 2014. The total user base now stands at 1.85 million, an 85 per cent increase over last year. In Europe alone, Wuaki.tv is close to reaching 2 million customers.

Indeed, company revenues have increased 212 per cent across the same period, while global turnover has increased by 94 per cent.

The figures mark out the VOD service as the dark horse in the streaming race: while headlines tend to focus on Netflix membership numbers and new territories, Wuaki.tv has quietly launched in France, Germany and Italy this year, with further expansino planned in 2015. Indeed, Wuaki.tv will have launched in 10 new countries by the end of next year, with target markets including Austria and Ireland, where the company will launch in the first half of 2015.

The growth this year has been driven in part by the proliferation and consumer adoption of Smart TVs. Smart TVs continue to be the main device of choice for Wuaki.tv customers streaming movies and TV series, with almost 40 per cent watching content on their big screen. However, other gadgets are proving popular, as more people get used to streaming content on multiple devices. Over a quarter (28 per cent) of Wuaki.tv users stream to smartphones and tablets, 21 per cent stream directly to a web browser and 11 per cent to a games console.

When compared to 2013, streaming to smartphones and tablets is far outpacing growth on other devices. The total number of movies and TV series streamed to mobile devices has increased by 305 per cent in the last year, indicating people are increasingly watching long-form content on a smaller screen.

During 2014, the blockbuster Martin Scorsese hit The Wolf of Wall Street was the most streamed title, followed by children’s movie Frozen and Maleficent.

“We are very proud of how well Wuaki.tv continues to be received in the UK, and across the new European countries where we have launched,” comments Jacinto Roca, founder and CEO of Wuaki.tv.

“Our mission to empower the user to choose not only the content they want to watch, but also when and on what platform is clearly paying off.”

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