2020 closes with record growth in the number of subscriptions to SVoD services

The annual increase in global SVoD subscriptions in the third quarter of 2020 reached 217.6 million, the highest in history.

Strategy Analytics has made public its report Q3 2020 Global VOD Service Competitor Review in which he highlights that the annual increase in global SVoD subscriptions In the third quarter of 2020 they reached 217.6 million, the highest in history, surpassing the previous record of 211.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2018.

The annual increase grew for the third consecutive quarter, after having decreased in the previous four quarters from the first quarter of 2019 to the fourth quarter of 2019. The trend reflects the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on video consumption, as well as the strong pull of Disney+.

Based on analysis of 21 global leading SVoD services, the report found that subscriptions reached 769.8 million in the third quarter of 2020, compared to 552.1 million the previous year. The annual increase of 217.6 million represents a growth rate of 28.3% and suggests that the VDP market is still far from reaching maturity. The report notes that major services such as Disney+ continue to expand geographically and that the potential of VED in many countries remains largely untapped.

Michael Goodman, director of television and media at Strategy Analytics, highlights that "Netflix, of course, remains the undisputed leader, but its subscription share has been steadily declining as new entrants arrive. Disney's rapid growth has helped it reach the number 2 position in subscriptions, and with its various D2C services it has already reached an annual revenue rate of $5.8 billion."

“D2C services are playing a key role in changing the way people watch TV, and we expect hundreds of millions of households around the world to move away from traditional streaming and pay TV in the next decade,” he underlines. David Mercer, vice president and principal analyst.

Connected television

Strategy Analytics has also analyzed the global sales of connected television devices which have reached a new record this quarter, as holiday demand and recovery from the impact of the pandemic have driven sales to more than 111 million units.

This represents a 32% growth compared to the previous quarter and 6% compared to the fourth quarter of 2019. According to the report, Global Connected TV Device Vendor Market Share, game consoles will be the fastest growing device, with fourth quarter sales expected to grow 150% compared to the third quarter.

The growth of media streamers will be 42% and that of smart TVs will be 9%. Q4 will bring full-year 2020 sales to 315.6 million.