The Digital Entertainment Group (DEG) says that consumer spending on home entertainment remained stable in Q3 this year. Spending was driven by gains in electronic sell-through and streaming.
Although a ‘resurgence of interest’ in Blu-ray discs and UltraHD are expected this year, as the two technologies come together, significant gains will not be felt until 2017.
Almost $4 billion was spent by consumers on home entertainment in Q3 – up less than 0.25% YoY. Digital showed the largest gains; spending on SVoD services rose 23.3%, to around $1.3 billion, while purchases of films, TV shows and other content rose 14%, to $433 million.
According to the DEG, one studio president said that iTunes now generates more revenue for his business than Target.
Sales of packaged media, such as Blu-rays and DVDs, fell 14% in Q3, to just under $1.2 billion. Adding in electronic sell-through, the total consumers spent on buying content was slightly short of $1.6 billion, down 7.8% from Q3’14’s $1.7 billion.
However, the launch of UltraHD Blu-ray discs this year is expected to spark consumer interest in the format once again.
In related news, the DEG estimates that almost 2 million UltraHD TVs have been sold this year: an increase of almost 500%.
