Figures released on January 29 by the British Association for Screen Entertainment (BASE), Omdia, Kantar, Futuresource Consulting, and official charts confirm that the total value of the UK Screen Industry rose to £12.5 bn in 2023, including SVoD, premium AVoD, TVoD, physical, cinema and pay TV, a 5.6% YoY growth in a year when the UK Box Office topped £1 billion for the first time since the pandemic.
Over two-thirds of UK homes (67.3%) accessed an SVoD service in Q3 2023, with an average of almost three services (2.9) per household in the country. In addition to that, there were 585 unique Free Ad Supported Television (FAST) channels in the UK in Q3 2023, a rise of 79 channels since Q1 2023. FAST global value is predicted to reach 13 billion dollars in 2028, one billion of which will be from Western Europe. 100% of UK FAST users also report using another free AVoD service, which falls slightly to 97% when social video services are removed. FAST channels continue to provide an opportunity for broadcasters looking to revitalize their catalog and demonstrate the new reality of the 'total lifetime' value perception of TV shows, which become fan favorites.
Another explanation of the phenomenon can be derived from the involved behavior brought by some of the most successful releases. Regarding this, Robert Marsh, Base Chair and Vice President, International Account Management/Sales, & UK Home Entertainment, Sony Pictures Entertainment, expressed his opinion: "Visual entertainment began and remains a content first industry: from Premium Transactional windows, through digital and disc releases and on to Pay TV and SVOD, our industry exists to create films and TV shows that audiences connect with, and which they return to again and again. With the growth of AVOD and FAST complimenting SVOD and transactional, audiences can now access our content in more diverse ways than ever before, with multi-channel access to entertainment being more and more the norm for many consumers, particularly fans,".
The global visual entertainment market (not including music and gaming) is now forecast to be worth $753 billion, 75% of the global entertainment market, which is estimated to rise to one trillion dollars in 2024. Online video is the most significant part of this anticipated trillion-dollar pie, with $369bn, followed by games at $255bn, Music at $44bn, cinema at $41bn, and Traditional (linear) TV at $34bn.
On the other hand, fans and collectors are highly valued, and it has been demonstrated that there is a good atmosphere for physical formats. This is indicated by Lesley Johnson, Co-Vice Chair, BASE, and Global Director, Home Entertainment, BBC Studios: "2023 has demonstrated that the TV sector remains robust in a tough economic climate with 8.3 million transactions, and a 22% share of the EST and Physical Market. Fans and collectors continue to be thrilled by special edition boxsets and are willing to invest in owning their shows on disc. It's also been a year in which consumers have begun to realize that shows do not stay on streaming formats forever and that if it's something they love, then purchasing a boxset means they truly have instant access," said.
It is estimated that global media and entertainment spending will rise by 6.4% to one trillion dollars in 2024, driven by the online video contribution of $367 billion and a theatrical contribution of $41 billion, alongside games, music, and linear TV.