Content Companies' 'Upgrade Bonanza' May Be Ending, nScreenMedia Analyst Says

Content companies may face sizable problems as worldwide subscription VOD and advertising-supported VOD keep outpacing electronic sell-through and transactional VOD revenue growth for years, while growth in EST and transactional VOD isn't keeping pace with the decline in disc rentals and sales, nScreenMedia analyst Colin Dixon blogged Tuesday. Data shows the trend of moving from ownership of movies and TV shows to paying for access to libraries is a global and not just U.S. phenomenon, he said. "The upgrade bonanza" from people buying new copies of content in new formats with better video quality may be over, the analyst said, pointing to services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video moving from HD to Ultra HD. He said the upgrade bonanza may be dying in the EST market as well, with Apple's announcement that buyers of an HD version of a movie would get a free upgrade to the Ultra HD version.