OTT to overtake US pay TV spend

The Queen’s Gambit

Americans will soon spend more on streaming services than pay TV, claims a new report.

According to a new study from Strategy Analytics, consumer spend in the country on streaming services like Netflix and Disney+ will overtake the amount being spent on traditional pay TV services by 2024.

The report notes that consumer spending on traditional pay TV services fell by 8% to US$90.7 billion in 2020 and will decline further to US$74.5 billion in 2024. Spend on streaming services by contrast rose by 34% in 2020 to US$39.5 billion and is set to hit US $76.3 billion in 2024.

The report goes on to predict that, by 2026, pay TV will account for only 40% of spending on video and TV services, compared to 81% ten years earlier.

Michael Goodman, director, TV and media strategies at Strategy Analytics, said: “The revenue picture gives the best illustration of the relative strength of new and old businesses. The fact that viewers are willing to divert an ever-increasing share of their entertainment wallet away from pay TV and towards new internet-based services demonstrates that the future lies with streaming video services rather than legacy pay TV players. 

“This is a long-term transition, but there is no doubt that the writing is on the wall for pay TV as we have known it for more than 40 years.”