Over 3,000 On Demand Video Services Now Available in the EU
Strasbourg, France, July 10, 2014-- A new report edited by the European Audiovisual Observatory on On-Demand Audiovisual Markets in the European Union has been published today by the Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology of the European Commission. The report draws a global picture of the state of on-demand audiovisual services in the EU in 2013 by providing analysis and the main available figures on complex and fast growing markets.
As of February 2014, 3,088 on-demand audiovisual services were established in the EU and listed in the MAVISE database of on-demand audiovisual services (http://mavise.obs.coe.int/). The leading categories are catch-up TV services (1 104 services listed), branded channels of broadcasters on open platforms (711 services listed) and VoD film services (409 listed). The countries with the most established services are the United Kingdom (682 services established), France (434 services established) and Germany (330 services established). Also, 223 services established in the USA and targeting European countries are currently available in one or several European countries.
One of the main objectives of the report is to describe the various business models of on-demand audiovisual media services and their roll-out in the EU:
- Advertising-financed on-demand audiovisual services (catch-up TV, open platform, branded channels,…)
- Paying transactional VoD services (rental and retail)
- Subscription VoD (SVoD)
- On-demand audiovisual media services provided by public broadcasters
The report also analyses the number of VoD services available in the European Union by country of establishment. This analysis highlights the importance of cross-border and international circulation of on-demand audiovisual services. Around 60% of the VoD services available in individual EU Member States are established in one other country. This illustrates the reality of the pan-European circulation of on-demand audiovisual media services through the EU, one of the objectives of the AVMS Directive adopted in 2007. The report points to the market opportunities for the audiovisual sector as well as to challenges faced by EU operators and by legislators in order to secure an adequate regulatory environment and consumer protection.
Other chapters are dedicated to the roll-out of the connected TVs and connected devices markets and the presence of European works in catalogues of VoD providers in the EU, through a sample study of 50 significant European films, either award winners or films with audience success.
This report is mainly a summary of notes drafted during the year 2013 and lays the groundwork for future research to be carried out during 2014. European on-demand audiovisual media services markets are thriving and major market evolutions are to come. The European Audiovisual Observatory remains fully committed to overcome obstacles to an encompassing analysis on the on-demand audiovisual services market in Europe such as a certain lack of transparent and reliable data.
The report can be downloaded on the Digital Agenda website of the European Commission https://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/news-redirect/16714
Number of VoD services available in the EU by country of establishment (all genres except Adult) - February 2014
| Total of available VoD services | National | Established in another EU country | Established in the US (1) | Established in another country | Unidentified | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AT | 87 | 11 | 21 | 52 | 3 | |
| BE - VLG (2) | 105 | 41 | 10 | 52 | 2 | |
| BE - CFB (2) | 112 | 42 | 11 | 55 | 4 | |
| BE - DSG (2) | 88 | 17 | 17 | 53 | 1 | |
| BG | 14 | 9 | 5 | |||
| CY | 43 | 7 | 4 | 31 | 1 | |
| CZ | 33 | 27 | 4 | 1 | 1 | |
| DE | 171 | 97 | 16 | 54 | 3 | 1 |
| DK | 51 | 15 | 17 | 18 | 1 | |
| EE | 12 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 3 | |
| ES | 121 | 31 | 11 | 70 | 6 | 3 |
| FI | 89 | 13 | 21 | 54 | 1 | |
| FR | 241 | 122 | 24 | 86 | 7 | 2 |
| GB | 241 | 126 | 7 | 99 | 9 | |
| GR | 43 | 7 | 4 | 31 | 1 | |
| HR | 11 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2 | |
| HU | 25 | 12 | 8 | 3 | 2 | |
| IE | 95 | 6 | 14 | 71 | 3 | 1 |
| IT | 88 | 22 | 8 | 55 | 3 | 0 |
| LT | 13 | 4 | 6 | 3 | ||
| LU | 50 | 5 | 9 | 33 | 3 | |
| LV | 12 | 3 | 6 | 3 | ||
| MT | 37 | 2 | 3 | 31 | 1 | |
| NL | 68 | 29 | 14 | 21 | 3 | 1 |
| PL | 49 | 33 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| PT | 48 | 7 | 7 | 33 | 1 | |
| RO | 13 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 2 | |
| SE | 50 | 14 | 10 | 23 | 3 | |
| SI | 47 | 9 | 6 | 31 | 1 | |
| SK | 19 | 7 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
Source: MAVISE / European Audiovisual Observatory
(1) The location of film VoD services (being branded catalogues of major studios) accessible through distribution platforms such as Xbox Live, iTunes Stores, YouTube is not available. In most cases, we have assumed that the branded services of US major studios were operated directly from the US. Studios and the MPAA declined to provide more information on this location issue.
(2) VoD services for Belgium (VLG - Flemish, CFB - French, and DSG - German) can be counted twice or three times due to their availability in the whole of Belgium.
