DVD, Streaming Video Up Aussie Home Entertainment Spending 4% in 2019

Packaged media is not dead down under. Consumer spending on TV and video in the home in Australia is projected to increase 4% in 2019, according to new data from Futuresource Consulting. The London-based research firm said Australian consumers continue to show a preference for entertainment ownership, with electronic sell-through of movies to own (EST) continuing to outperform transactional VOD movies. Notably, physical media (DVD, Blu-ray Disc) continues to play a role, generating nearly two-thirds of transactional home video spend in 2019. However, following global trends, the Australian market is moving towards digital with transactional digital spend exceeding physical by 2021. “The Australian market is delivering a solid overall performance, but despite the continuing upsurge, its key components are experiencing wildly varying fortunes,” physical analyst David Sidebottom said in a statement. “SVOD is the country’s shining star, with our forecasts indicating a net subscriber increase of over 2 million expected in 2019 and consumer spend poised to break the AU$1 billion barrier for the first time.”