According to a new study by the Digital Entertainment Group (DEG), consumer spending on home entertainment rose to a record 8.4 percent to $25.2 billion in 2019. The streaming industry made up approximately $15.9 billion of that number, and now accounts for 63 percent of the whole home entertainment market, a 23.7 percent climb from 2018.
The study also found that digital movie sales went up 5.1 percent to roughly $2.6 billion and digital movie rentals through services such as FandangoNow, Redbox On Demand, Vudu and Google Play were up 9 percent, Variety pointed out.
Variety also noted the study said “a la carte streaming generated $1.96 billion, down 6.2 percent from the prior year – chiefly due to consumers’ shift away from traditional pay-TV services.”
Netflix’s disc-by-mail rental business is still thriving, bringing in about $301.2 million, in a sector that’s waned over the years. The entire DVD rental business earned just $250 million in 2019, a 21.1 percent dip from 2018.
The DEG’s findings support those from a previous study conducted by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) earlier this year. The CTA predicted spending on subscription-video services will increase 29 percent this year, hitting an estimated $24.1 billion. The projected increase is to be expected as Disney+ and Apple TV+ join Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime Video in the streaming space, with WarnerMedia’s HBO Max, NBCUniversal’s Peacock and Quibi also coming this year.