The boom will be driven by services from traditional broadcasters – Vodafone bolsters its position as a content provider with new Discovery deal.
Juniper Research reckons there will be nearly 2 billion active subscriptions to on-demand video services in 2025; which is a 65% increase over the end of 2020 and a further test of telcos’ capacity and their ability to switch it to where it is needed.
The primary engine for this growth will be from traditional broadcasters, who are increasingly turning to streaming services to extend their reach and compete with online video giants like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.
The new research notes that traditional broadcasters are turning to hybrid services, combining subscription- and advertising-supported services which generate revenue from subscriptions, but show ads to keep prices down at the lower end of the market.
It gives NBC’s Peacock, and CBS’ All Access as examples. They offer tiered services and Juniper Research anticipates this model of services will account for $1.4 billion in advertising spend in 2025.
Two big trends
The report shows that over 70% of video sessions in the next five years will be streamed on smartphones, thanks to the emergence of social videos on platforms like TikTok.
Juniper Research’s report notes that, as subscription services become increasingly prominent, particularly in the US, new models will be necessary to combat subscription fatigue – it is estimated that an average household had four such subscriptions, although Juniper expects growth to from 2021.
Vodafone takes action
The big danger for mobile operators is carrying massively increased levels of traffic for now extra income, just as they did when hit by the first wave of OTT applications and players.
Clearly determined not be a bystander, Vodafone has signed a new long-term, multi-platform agreement in Europe with Discovery, Inc under which the operator’s customers (mobile, fixed and TV) in 12 markets can watch Discovery’s content, which equates to about 100 million subscribers.
The roll-out will happen in phases over the next two years.
The partners are also to collaborate on making discovery+ (which aggregates Discovery’s brands and content) available to Vodafone’s existing subscriber bases across Europe.
The partnership covers Vodafone’s TV and mobile customers, with some provisos, in the UK, Germany, Turkey, Italy, Spain, Romania, Portugal, Greece, Czech Republic, Hungary, Ireland and Iceland, and customers will also be able to access the BBC’s natural history collection and Eurosport’s premium sports in one place for the first time.
Leading content?
Ahmed Essam, Chief Commercial Operations and Strategy Officer, Vodafone Group, said, “I am extremely pleased to have made this agreement with Discovery, which extends our existing partnership and perfectly demonstrates Vodafone’s positioning as one of Europe’s leading video content platforms.
“Discovery will be a key part of our Entertainment offer, providing a rich choice of content that will enhance Vodafone’s provision of a superior customer experience across its high-quality TV and flexible streaming services”
For more insights from Juniper Research, you can download the free whitepaper, Tuning into the Future of Video Streaming.