A crackdown by Netflix on password-sharing is a major contributor in the growing value of the British entertainment market, which is forecast to reach 100 billion for the first time this year.
Figures released as part of global entertainment and media outlook from consultancy PwC put the UK on course to generate £121 billion in revenue by 2028, overtaking Germany for the first time. The UK’s entertainment sector has also been fuelled by advertising expenditure, a love of the cinema including hits such as Barbie, and Taylor Swift’s Eras tour.
Video streaming revenues have risen through a combination of a crackdown on password sharing and a shift in business models where subscribers pay a lesser amount in return for accepting advertising. There have also been price increases.
The UK’s streaming market, is now the third largest globally by revenue, behind only the United States and China, buoyed by the move of some sports to streaming services. “Despite the difficult macroeconomic environment, the market has continued to flourish,” Ben Bird, the entertainment and media sector leader at PwC UK, said. “Operators are leveraging their content rights and original productions to boost take-up, leaving consumers needing to subscribe to multiple services or to rotate platforms to access the content they desire, such as sports streaming, with English Premier League football spread across three different streaming platforms.”
Global subscriptions to over-the-top (OTT) video services will rise to 2.1 billion in 2028 from 1.6 billion in 2023 – representing a 5.0% CAGR. As subscription revenue growth levels off, global advertising VOD (AVOD) revenue will continue to grow at double-digit rates through 2028—for a five-year CAGR of 14.1%. By 2028, advertising will account for about 28% of global streaming revenues, up from 20% in 2023.