While some bemoan the abundance of streaming services, it’s clear that they’re not going anywhere — at least if data provided by Digital Entertainment Group (DEG) is any indication.
According to DEG, US streaming spending rose 21 percent in the first six months of 2021 to $12.2 billion, and 17 percent in the second quarter to $6.3 billion. The growth comes despite last year’s strong Q2, during which time most U.S. consumers were tightly quarantined under COVID-19 restrictions — and video streaming usage spiking accordingly. It also comes as these same restrictions significantly slowed the production of new, original content, leaving mostly a service’s existing library as the only content available.
DEG says the growth is in part to the numerous services that have launched over the past year, such as Apple TV+, Disney+, Peacock, HBO Max, discovery+, and Paramount+.
Overall, DEG said the U.S. “home entertainment” sector expanded its sales by 5% to $15.7 billion in the first half of 2021, which includes subscription streaming, pay-TV VOD, digital rental and sales of movies and TV shows, and physical (i.e. DVD and Blu-ray) distribution of programming.
Studies last year predicted an incoming “subscription fatigue” as more services launched and consumers grew tired of consuming content digitally, but that obviously isn’t the case. In last year’s edition of Deloitte’s Digital Media Trends, Deloitte found that subscription fatigue may rise, turning customers away from SVODs as options increase.
However, another report from this year, courtesy of Parks Associates, found that 46 percent of US homes with broadband-level Internet connections subscribed to four or more streaming services. This more than doubles last year’s number of 22 percent and dwarfs numbers from years prior — and the consumers in question don’t look to be giving up their services any time soon.