Netflix and Prime Video eclipse local broadcaster revenues in the UK

Netflix’s Stranger Things

UK revenue for streaming giants Netflix and Amazon Prime is double that of the nation’s five biggest broadcasters.

According to an Ofcom report on the UK’s VOD market, Amazon Prime and Netflix generated an estimated £1.09 billion (€1.27 billion) in 2018. By contrast, Sky’s Now TV, ITV Hub, All 4, My 5 and the BBC iPlayer made a combined £530 million (€615 million).

Breaking the figures down, the report found that Netflix generated an estimated £693 million (€804 million) in 2018, while Amazon prime made £400 million (€464 million).

ITV’s ITV Hub generated £243 million (€282 million), Sky’s Now TV made £165 million (€192 million), All 4 generated £78 million (€91 million) and My5 made £29 million (€34 million).

Ofcom has also published its inaugural Online Nation report, which suggests that the nation’s internet activity is increasingly moving towards video. According to the report, video accounted for the majority of UK internet traffic, at 70% of data transferred, including activities such as streaming TV and video, as well as making video calls and online gaming.

YouTube is the largest video site, with 92% of UK internet users accessing it once a month for 27 minutes per day on average. This is mostly to watch music (62% of video service users) and ‘how- to’ videos (57%). YouTube is also increasingly used as a search tool, with 40% of UK adults searching directly via the YouTube website or app in 2019.