The number of OTT video services in the US has more than doubled since 2014 and currently stands at nearly 300.
Moreover, according to the OTT Video Market Tracker from Parks Associates, the rate of closure has also declined, from a peak in 2018 when 19 services left the market, to only six ceasing operations in 2020 so far.
Commenting on the findings of the OTT Video Market Tracker, Steve Nason, research director, Parks Associates, said: “as theatres began to reopen over the summer, film studios had to weigh their options in releasing new titles.
“The decision to delay the latest James Bond film No Time to Die hit the theatre industry hard, and Disney’s announcement to move the Pixar film Soul to Disney+ shows studios are putting more emphasis on streaming as many theatres remain closed or at limited capacity. We could see studios who also own streaming services experiment more with different transactional and windowing options within their offerings, as Disney did with Mulan on Disney+ in September”.
The latest OTT Video Market Tracker also weighs in on the recent partnership between NBCUniversal and Roku to distribute new streaming service Peacock, which it characterises as a “win-win” for both parties.
Nason added: “Through this partnership, NBCUniversal gets its new marquee OTT service on one of the leading streaming video platforms, and Roku gets a significant incremental revenue bump from Peacock’s advertising, no matter the split.
“The agreement will yield large gains of users and paying subscribers for Peacock as it takes on the Big 3 in OTT and newer entrants from Disney, Apple, WarnerMedia, and ViacomCBS”.
