SVOD Generated 19.8% Rise in 2021 Consumer Spending: DEG

U.S. consumer spending on home entertainment content jumped 7.8% in 2021 to $32.35 billion, including 11.3% growth in Q4 to $8.6 billion, reported the Digital Entertainment Group Friday. Subscription VOD generated the largest swath of consumer spending, rising 19.8% for the year to $25.27 billion, and up 19.3% for the quarter to $6.64 billion, said DEG, citing Omdia data as the source. Sell-through of 4K Blu-rays increased more than 6%, said DEG. With COVID-19 “pandemic conditions improving as 2021 progressed,” box-office spending on titles released to the home in Q4 jumped more than 1,100% from a year earlier, said DEG, though the impact of new theatrical releases on DEG’s “transactional” home entertainment tracking was muted “by the fact that many high-profile titles were released to the home in a premium window.” It estimates premium release revenue generated through retailers that “support multiple studios” would have added about $525 million to DEG’s full-year report, it said. The estimate doesn’t include revenue generated through the “premium access” option of Disney+, it said.