U.S. home entertainment spending topped $25bn in 1H 2024

DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group today released its First Half 2024 Digital Media Entertainment Report compiled by DEG members, tracking sources and retail input.[1]

Consumers spent almost $25.4 billion on movies and television shows consumed at home and on the go in the first six months of 2024. For the full first half, spending rose more than 22 percent from the almost $20.8 billion consumers spent in the first six months of 2023. Second quarter year-over-year growth was 21.2 percent, for a total of almost $12.8 billon in the quarter.

Strong growth was achieved in consumer spend on subscription streaming[2], while a slate of smaller theatrical releases on average than those films released in 2023 impacted consumer spending on transactional formats in the first half of 2024. Theatrical new releases are historically a key driver of home entertainment spending.

Among the trends for the Second Quarter and First Half 2024:

• The 2024 first half increase was fueled by a 27.1 percent rise in subscription streaming, which grew to almost $22.9 billion, from $18 billion in the first half of 2023, as targeted and general entertainment services continued to add subscribers with new content including professional sports, pricing options and ad-supported tiers. In the second quarter of 2024, consumer spending on subscription streaming also increased more than 27 percent, to surpass $11.5 billion.
• Box-office spending on titles released to the home in the first half was almost 20 percent less than a year earlier, negatively impacting consumer spending on transactional formats, which are typically driven by theatrical new release. The 2024 first half suffered from tough comparisons with 2023, when Universal’s $575 million box-office hit The Super Mario Bros. Movie, was released in home entertainment windows. The first quarter benefitted, however, from a number of strong holdover titles from late 2023, including Barbie (WBD); Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (Disney); John Wick Chapter 4 (Lionsgate); Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1 (Paramount); and Oppenheimer (Universal).
• When including stronger first quarter transactional performance, consumer spending on digital purchases (EST[3]) for the full first half was off 11 percent, and spending on digital rentals (VOD[3]) was essentially flat, with a decrease of less than 1 percent.
• Being far less dependent on the current theatrical slate, catalog titles performed better than new release in the first half down less than 2 percent—a sign of digital transactional stability.
• Following Netflix’s 2023 exit from the physical subscription business, DEG reports no longer include spending on physical disc rental, only physical product sales. Disc sales (DVD, Blu-ray and 4K UHD Blu-ray) continued a steady decline, falling about 28.5 percent in the second quarter of 2024, and 22.2 percent for year’s first half. These declines also were driven by new release, with catalog faring better, down only 14 percent for first half of the year. Consumers continue to show strong demand for collectible disc formats with SteelBooks up 44 percent and 4K UHD Blu-ray catalog sales growing by 16 percent.
• Among the first half’s best-performing titles across transactional formats were Anyone But You (Sony); Bob Marley: One Love (Paramount); Civil War (A24); Dune: Part Two (WBD); The Fall Guy (Universal); Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (Sony); Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (WBD); The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (Lionsgate); IF (Paramount); Kung Fu Panda 4 (Universal); The Marvels (Disney); and Wonka (WBD).
• Ad-supported premium AVOD and FAST content reached an estimated advertising revenue of $5.4 billion in the second quarter of 2024, according to estimates from Omdia[4] , as more major streamers diversified their offerings to include lower cost subscription plans with ads. Omdia estimates show ad revenue grew more than 51 percent in the quarter, just a hair faster than the first quarter’s 50 percent growth rate and in stark contrast to second quarter 2023, when ad revenue totaled almost $3.6 billion and recorded a 5.5 percent decline from the prior year.

1. Please note, these numbers are preliminary. Contact DEG for updates.
2. SVOD data sourced from Omdia.
3. Digital transaction spending (EST and VOD) includes premium releases.
4. Premium ad-supported video data sourced from Omdia. Represents revenue from AVOD (ad-supported video on demand) and FAST (free ad-supported streaming TV) services specializing in premium, typically long-form, content.
— Includes Discovery+, Disney+, Freevee, Max, Hulu, LG Channels, Netflix, Paramount+, Peacock, Pluto TV, Roku Channel, Samsung TV+, Tubi, Vix, Vizio WatchFree+, as well as legacy TV Everywhere services and other premium AVOD/FAST.
— Excludes social video services such as YouTube or TikTok.
— For hybrid services, such as Hulu, the data represents only the advertising revenue and does not include subscription revenue generated by the hybrid tier.
— Data represents the U.S. only and is preliminary.

For reference, DEG provides a list of digital entertainment terms and definitions on its web site.

2024 First Half Home Entertainment Spending
U.S. Consumer Spending Thru Q2 ($in millions)

                                           Q1-2023     Q1-2024   Q1-YOY    Q-2 2023    Q-2 2024   Q2-YOY
                                        ----------  ----------  -------  ----------  ----------  -------
Physical Product*                          $275.18     $233.24  -15.24%     $304.94     $218.16  -28.46%

Digital**
 Electronic Sell-Thru (EST)                $564.35     $564.34    0.00%     $695.07     $552.48  -20.51%
 VOD                                       $443.47     $459.57    3.63%     $480.54     $457.48   -4.80%
 Subscription Streaming (SVOD)***         8,923.50   11,311.37   26.76%   $9,074.60  $11,563.48   27.43%
Total Digital                            $9,931.32  $12,335.28   24.21%  $10,250.20  $12,573.44   22.67%

Total U.S. Home Entertainment Spending  $10,206.50  $12,568.51   23.14%  $10,555.14  $12,791.60   21.19%

Box Office in Billions                       $2.09       $1.50  -28.20%       $1.76       $1.58  -10.06%

                                            Thru Q2
                                         First Half  First Half
                                               2023        2024  YTD-YOY
                                         ----------  ----------  -------
Physical Product*                           $580.12     $451.40  -22.19%

Digital**
 Electronic Sell-Thru (EST)               $1,259.42   $1,116.82  -11.32%
 VOD                                        $924.00     $917.05   -0.75%
 Subscription Streaming (SVOD)***        $17,998.10  $22,874.85   27.10%
Total Digital                            $20,181.52  $24,908.71   23.42%

Total U.S. Home Entertainment Spending   $20,761.64  $25,360.11   22.15%

Box Office in Billions                        $3.85       $3.08  -19.91%

* Physical Product represents consumer spending for sell-thru product only
** Digital transaction spending (EST and VOD) includes premium releases, but not Disney+ Premier Access titles.
*** SVOD data sourced from Omdia. Disclaimer: The data is not an endorsement and reliance is at a third party’s own risk.

Disclaimer: This report contains information compiled from sources that the DEG believes have accurately reported such information, but which the DEG has not independently checked or verified. As such, the DEG does not warrant its accuracy or reliability. The report is not intended to provide investment or securities advice.