UK streaming market worth £1bn by 2019

The rise is streaming could soon makes DVDs and Blu-ray discs as obsolete as VHS video cassettes, according to market research firm Mintel.
Viewing habits are changing immensely with the boom in smart TVs and tablets, as more Brits opt to buy the latest TV boxset or movie blockbuster online.
From £28 million (€39 million) five years ago, the online streaming market was last year worth £437 million and is forecast to top £1 billion by 2019.
Paul Davies, researcher as Mintel, commented: “As more people acquire smart TVs, which let them stream films and TV shows directly, they will pick digital sources over physical formats.”

While around two thirds of the total video market’s £2.24 billion in annual revenues still come from owning physical discs, income from this area dropped 6.5 per cent in 2013 while VoD grew 45 per cent, boosted by a 77 per cent leap in subscription services.

Video could soon be digitally dominant if it continues to follow the trajectory carved out by the music industry, which saw digital account for half of all music sales – totalling £513 million – for the first time in 2014 as the physical music sector fell to less than half its value in 2008.

The research also shows that one in three Britons who stream video are prepared to pay for content. Netflix leads the pack, attracting a fifth of British consumers who paid to stream video in the last year. This is more than double the 9 per cent of people who chose to use its nearest rival, Amazon Prime Instant Video.

Netflix gained 13 million global users last year, with a third of its 57.4 million subscribers based outside of the US. But the monthly subscription service has yet to catch up with the UK’s free streaming sites, as YouTube, BBC iPlayer, ITV Player and 4OD have been used more than Netflix in the UK in the last year.

Music streaming is a smaller industry than its video peer, and British consumers are less willing to pay for the service – 24 per cent have paid to stream songs in the past year, compared to 32 per cent who have bought video streaming – largely because much of the music content can be found elsewhere for free.