Digital drives US home entertainment past $6BN in second quarter
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| 21 August 2019

The Mid-Year 2019 Home Entertainment Report compiled by members of the US Digital Entertainment Group has found that overall US home entertainment spending rose nearly 7% in the second quarter of 2019 and demand for online films driving overall digital revenue to grow 16% year-on-year.

The research showed that US consumers spent nearly $6 billion on films and TV shows for home entertainment in the second quarter of 2019. By comparison, $5.6 billion was spent in the second quarter of 2018. While digital spending continued to be a driving force, the increase in overall home entertainment spending in the quarter came amid a nearly 10% drop in box-office performance for the films released in the period.

For the first half of 2019, DEG calculated that spending rose 6.7% to $12 billion compared with $11.3 billion in the six-month period a year earlier. Among the highlights for the first half of 2019 were that total digital spend was strong, rising 16% from the same period in 2018 while subscription streaming climbed nearly 22%.

Looking at individual revenue segments, DEG’s Mid-Year 2019 Home Entertainment Report found that first-half consumer demand for theatrical releases continued to grow across digital formats. Spending on theatrical EST rose nearly 8%, while spending on theatrical titles on VOD was up more than 9%. The increase for the six months came amid a nearly 16% fall in box-office performance for films released in the first half.

Digital transactions and subscription streaming continued to offset declines in physical sales and rentals. Subscription video-on-demand grew 21.93% year-on-year for the first half of the year to reach $7.474 billion. In the second quarter of the year, SVOD revenues were $3.888 billion, up 23.13% on an annual basis.