Global OTT revenue hit US$38.2bn in 2018 and is forecast to almost double by 2023, according to PwC’s Global Entertainment and Media Outlook 2019–2023 report.
The study said that although over-the-top revenue is still dwarfed by cable and satellite spending, there is a “great unbundling” happening worldwide with the launch of services like sports streaming offering DAZN and Disney’s forthcoming Disney+ service.
PwC estimates that OTT video revenue accounted for 18.6% of the global TV subscription revenue in 2018, but will jump to 35.4% in 2023 after growing at a 13.8% CAGR to reach US$72.8bn – thanks to consumption increases in mature markets and rapid expansion in less-developed regions.
PwC also predicts that the advent of 5G mobile connectivity will lead to new kinds of bundles, including 5G packaged with subscriptions to OTT services.
“As content becomes the force that attracts and retains consumers, OTT providers have entered an expensive arms race to develop original shows and obtain rights to sporting events,” said the report. “Many streaming video-on-demand services have failed because they couldn’t acquire sufficient numbers of customers.”
Another key theme of the report was around personalisation, with empowered consumers controlling their own media consumption via an expanding range of smart devices and curating their own selection of channels via OTT services.
“5G’s impact will be felt across the entire technology, media and telecommunications value chain for the next decade. It will hasten existing trends towards personalisation, making it easier, more convenient and cheaper to access more media on phones and other mobile devices,” said Wilson Chow, Global Technology, Media and Telecommunications Leader and Partner, PwC China.
“Key impacts of 5G for entertainment and media will include enabling more streaming of high-quality video — including of live events like sports and music — and better use of AI, together with massive opportunities for video games and VR in terms of speed and quality of images.”
For more information and to access the report, click here.
