Scott Roxborough for Hollywood Reporter:
A study published Thursday by London-based Ampere Analysis found subscriber growth across the board for subscription video on demand (SVOD) services, with the U.S. market returning to growth and the less-developed European market making up for lost time.
In the U.S. SVOD subscriber figures had plateaued at just over 70 percent of households between the third quarter of 2016 and the first quarter of last year. But, Ampere found, growth picked up throughout 2018 and through the first three months of 2019. Overall, 80 percent of U.S. internet users now report subscribing to at least one SVOD service, the report found. Only Saudi Arabia, with 86 percent penetration, has a stronger take-up.
The rich European markets, which have traditionally lagged behind the U.S. when it comes to SVOD, are quickly catching up. Ampere found subscriber growth across the board, with only the Netherlands showing no significant increase in market penetration. In the Nordic territories and the U.K., the percentage of Internet users reporting at least one SVOD subscription has topped 70 percent. It’s is notable that those regions also boast the highest Internet penetration in Europe.
MacDailyNews Take: This will be a war around quality – if Apple can generate a hit show a la Game of Thrones, its Apple TV SVOD future could be bright.
While I would agree with MDN that hit shows would definitely brighten Apple’s future, without a compelling video library to go with it, may make any premium pricing difficult. Apple would only ‘rise’ to become a content creator selling to the ‘larger’ SVOD vendors in short order.