Forecasts for evolving streaming video home entertaintment

Author Moonshot.news

Published on: 24/07/2021

How the streaming home entertainment market will react after the pandemic is still not known. The lock-down with people spending more time at home meant the market was booming but with societies now opening up, the market is expected to change.

“This year, $119.69 billion will be spent on video subscriptions in the US. But as the streaming video industry continues to expand, viewership is not only increasing, it’s evolving”, says streaming software company Penthera.

Netflix announced it is going into streaming games to compensate for stagnating and maturated markets. HBO reported growth but said it would delay launching HBO Max in some European markets until early 2022 and focus on early success in Latin America. A smaller challenger, Swedish NENT, was optimistic and said it would grow outside Scandinavia.

Globally, HBO and HBO Max have 67.5 million subscribers while Netflix has 209 million. NENT said it Viacom streaming service had increased subscribers by 21% to 3.29 million.

FRUSTRATED VIEWERS

In a report about video streaming behaviour in US, Penthera said:

• More viewers are experiencing frustrations when they stream—92% in 2021 compared to 88% in 2020.
• Re-buffering is the #1 reason viewers abandon a stream, with 40% saying it’s their most common reason for leaving.
• When deciding which streaming service to use, viewers say the top factors are ease of use (51%) and videos not rebuffering (41%). Having shows and movies they like comes in third at 39%.
• Mobile is the most used video platform with 74% saying they stream on mobile, ahead of Connected TV (70%), and PC (41%).

EUROPEAN DELAYS

WarnerMedia reported 2.8 million US subscribers for its premium channel HBO and streaming platform HBO Max during the second quarter and referred to new movies.

CEO, Jason, Kilar, said the growth is one sign the market for streaming media is still expanding in the US.

HBO Max reported strong subscriber growth in Latin America and Kilar said “wouldn’t be surprised” if that trend lasts into 2022.

The company’s Warner Bros. studio is producing over ten movies that will be available exclusively on HBO Max  in 2022.

AT&T raised its forecast for global HBO Max subscribers to between 70 million and 73 million by the end of the year. It had earlier expected 67 million to 70 million subscribers.

US MARKET WITH PARTNERS

Netflix reported it added 1.5 million subscribers in the Q2 while it added 10.1 million in the same quarter last year.

The company is expending its offers by launching more video games. As expected the presentation of the company’s second quarter report showed slower subscriber growth.

“We view gaming as another new content category for us, similar to our expansion into original films, animation and unscripted TV,” the company said in its letter to shareholders

In the US and Canada, Netflix reported losing about 430,000 subscribers in the second quarter.

Swedish NENT competing with the streaming giants in the Nordic market said its Viaplay streaming service has added 140 000 subscribers in the Q2 including 27 000 outside the Nordics as the company entered new markets in March.

NENT raised its full-year international Viaplay subscriber target to 500,000 from more than 250,000, and expects to add at least 400,000 paying subscribers in the Nordics.

Viaplay offers movies, series and sports through its streaming service, which is available in the Nordic countries plus Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

“Our mix of content, especially the fact that we are producing locally relevant content, and combine that with sports puts us in a different position compared to, for example, Netflix,” CEO Anders Jensen said.

The company plans to launch in Poland in August and in the US with partners later this year. By the end of 2023, the company plans to be in eight other international markets. Target is 10.5 million subscribers by 2025.