OTT revenues to hit $32bn by 2019

Over-the-top (OTT) revenues are set to quadruple over the next four years to more than US$30bn, further squeezing linear television, according to a study revealed today.

Online and digital market research group Juniper Research claims subscription revenues will generate around US$31.6bn from OTT services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime by 2019 – up from just under US$8bn in 2014.

The report’s author, Lauren Foye, said that while there will be continued growth in established markets such as Western Europe and North America, the emergence of other OTT players in the Far East and Asia Pacific would create a surge in demand and revenues.

Last year saw the unveiling of a flurry of internet-based on-demand services, with CBS becoming the first US network to launch a streaming option, alongside similar services such as Shomi in Canada.

HBO revealed its own offering just before CBS, while US operator Dish launched streaming service Sling TV and US broadcaster Starz pledged US$20m to develop its own offering.

The latest findings, from Juniper’s whitepaper OTT – A Threat Networks Can’t Shake Off, supports research from research group Ovum earlier this year that predicted OTT subscriptions would soar to nearly 200 million over the next five years.

Juniper added that the rapid uptake would cause even more competition for “pay TV incumbents, allowing distributors such as Sling TV to provide customers with a cheaper, tailored alternative to cable TV, driving the trend for cord-cutting.”

The UK-based research group also found that more than 84% of OTT subscriptions will be made via connected TVs by 2019, and predicted that IPTV revenues will more than double between 2014 and 2019 as operators invest in triple- and quad-play services.