There are now over one billion subscriptions to streaming services worldwide according to the Motion Picture Association

Each year the Motion Picture Association produces a state of the industry report, and the latest for 2020 (it’s 63 pages but quite readable) can be downloaded and studied. Of course any industry trends were trampled on by COVID-19, but in some ways it seems to have acted as a lens, magnifying the move from cinema to screen for example. We’ve frequently covered the rise of streaming and its popularity (eg in our weekly Nielsen analysis) and it’s helpful to see the same trends from a different perspective.

We shan’t spoil the whole report, but direct you to page 5 where the Executive Summary starts. There’s one eye-watering statistic to absorb:

The number of subscriptions to online video services around the world increased to 1.1 billion in 2020, a 26 percent increase compared to 2019.

In other words, for the first time there were more than one billion subscriptions. The item goes on to say Cable television is still the highest revenue source globally, but the graph on page 12 shows the number of cable subscribers drifting down year and year and it only around 50% that of online. It implies (though further analysis would be needed) there are any number of cable users who might switch to online and could save money while sustaining a price rise among streaming services. It’s not a firm conclusion, but a bundle of trends that bear watching. It’s also true a cable subscription might well support multiple channels and TV content not stream otherwise. Yet.

As to the pandemic (which continues) the combined theatrical and home/market shrank 18% to $80.8 billion, though this doesn’t include the $233.1 billion pay subscription market. There was a 72% drop in global box office, partially offset by a 31% rise in the global home/digital market.

There’s plenty more in the report, and while one billion subscribers is undeniably impressive, this isn’t individuals. Having several subscriptions is not uncommon (at the moment) so the number of subscribers will be far lower. It’s an interesting read and we look forward to seeing how 2021 compares in next year’s report.