What you need to know

The focus of both the mainstream press and much research on the video market is often negative, with projections of massive declines in pay TV subscriptions or losses to studio revenue as households subscribe to online services instead of buying individual movies. It is true that single transaction sales did contract by 12.7% from 2015-17, and that the subscriptions to pay TV service among leading services fell by 546,000 units in the 12 months running up to June 2017.

However, these dour headlines tend to ignore the positive strides of the market, including: expanded usage of Television Everywhere services; the fact that households are accreting services rather than cutting them; and that total sales, inclusive of pay TV, online services, and single transactions combined, is in a state of expansion. This Report presents distributors and marketers with the data points that debunk traditional narratives regarding television and movie consumption, and the insights necessary to capitalize on a host of real trends, including the willingness to expand household spending on content.

Definition

This Report explores consumption of movies and television including:

  • Pay TV

  • Television channels delivered over-the-air

  • Subscription streaming

  • Ad-supported streaming

  • Rentals and purchases.

The focus of this Report is on long-form professional content, but short-form content is included as part of the competitive landscape for consumer leisure time. Viewership at movie theaters or other retail locations (restaurants, bars, fairs, museums, etc) is not covered in this Report.

This Report builds on Mintel’s Content Consumption: Movies and Television – US, August 2016, Pay TV and Home Communication Services – US, March 2015 and Movie Sales and Rentals – US, August 2015.

Back to top