The world of content distribution is an ever-evolving industry. However, over the past 15 years, we have seen unprecedented shifts in the market. With consumer behaviour drastically altering since the pandemic and both operators and stakeholders adopting new strategies to serve them, the global content market is not the same as it once was.
We have seen a significant change in terms of the type of services that are buying international content, with the growth of local, regional and global VOD services all featuring, along with the decline of Basic Pay TV as traditional linear providers turn their heads to the power of direct-to-consumer VOD. Over the last decade, we have seen a huge surge in SVOD launches, with Netflix leading the way globally with 46 quarters of continuous global growth to well over 200 million subscribers.
As SVOD grew and traditional media watched the seemingly unstoppable rise of Netflix they decided it was time for them to move faster and harder into D2C and SVOD in the race for viewers. Fuelled further by the implications of a global pandemic, they increased the focus on D2C, fundamentally changing the dynamics of content markets as Studios withheld content for use on their own services. With major studios selling up to 100% of production to themselves, this phenomenon has fundamentally transformed the content distribution business. Studios are altering their strategies in the face of competitive market pressures, resulting in less clear-cut outcomes, and there is increasing pressure from Wall Street to focus on profitability as well as subscriber numbers. There is not enough room for all the service operators in the market and with everyone facing change, the need for creators and distributors to innovate practices and improve tools is stronger than ever.
The opportunity remains strong for content distributors as services compete for content with increasing intensity, but distributors need to be increasingly strategic about their approach, balancing activity across multiple areas and looking for growth in key sectors.
This whitepaper brought to you by MIPCOM and 3Vision examines the rise of global vertical distribution strategies, how it is unfolding across varying markets and the implications this will have for the future of global content markets.
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Want to know more about latest trends in the global entertainment industry across all genres? Attend the the 38th International Co-Production & Content Market MIPCOM CANNNES, from October 17-20 and MIPJUNIOR, The Pre-MIPCOM International Kids Screenings & Co-Production Market, on October 15-16 in Cannes.
