LONDON — The VOD and PPV market in Western Europe will be worth 3 billion euros ($4.4 billion) by 2011, according to recent research published Wednesday.
The report, issued Wednesday by media analysts Screen Digest, predicts the marketplace for VOD and PPV will double in value from its current 1.5 billion euros ($2.2 billion).
From a low penetration of less than 8% today, Screen Digest predicts that, by 2011, more than 20% of Western European households will have VOD, a 30% increase from current levels.
The research points to key growth markets including Belgium, the Netherlands and France, where cable operators have launched their own VOD services.
While the Big Five European markets — the U.K., Germany, France, Italy and Spain — will continue to take the lion’s share of on-demand revenue, other countries are beginning to catch up, the report indicated.
As more Nordic companies deploy VOD services, for instance, the Scandinavian countries are beginning to show increasing on-demand average revenue per unit.
The report also warns that the dominance of blockbuster movies and sports programming will be challenged in the years ahead by other content available.
Screen Digest suggests that such content as archive and library films and a la carte TV programs will grow their share of total on-demand revenue from 9% to 18% by 2011.
True VOD services present a win-win situation for content owners, allowing them to finally earn income from large back catalogs of material that had been consigned to the rubbish heap, the report found.
And on top of this, as subscriber numbers and overall on-demand buy rates increase, blockbuster films will benefit from the market growth and will be earning 700 million euros ($1 billion) per year by 2009, despite their loss of market share.
The porn industry also will reap rewards, doubling its VOD revenue from its current level of more than 250 million euros ($370 million) to more than 500 million euros by the end of 2011.
