Report: Music, Not Video, Tops Digital Subscription, Download Market

25 Jun, 2013 By: Erik Gruenwedel

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Video streaming, downloads projected to surpass music downloads, subscriptions and radio by 2016

Netflix and subscription video-on-demand may dominate the headlines, but music, via subscription streaming, song-play and download stores, continues to lead the digital subscription and download media with nearly 60% penetration in a market that generated $12.5 billion in 2012, according to a new research report.

Dublin-based Research and Markets found that streaming and downloading of movies and television captured 38% market share, led by Netflix, Hulu Plus and iTunes.

Indeed, iTunes users have downloaded more than 1 billion TV episodes and 380 million movies from the platform since its 2001 launch, according to Apple. The media company says consumers purchase more than 800,000 TV episodes and 350,000 movies from iTunes each day.

The subscription video category exhibited a 10-year compound annual growth rate of 106%, up from a 2.6% in 2003, and currently forecast to pull ahead of digital music revenue in the 2016 - 2020 timeframe. Notable newcomers include video services such Redbox Instant, Comcast’s Xfinity Streampix and Amazon Prime Instant Video.

Subscription digital sports packages accounted for a 1.63% share of the total market in 2012, a category that has grown at a 13% CAGR over the past 10 years. Real Networks' SuperPass video service held a 0.3% share, down from a 0.4% comparable in the prior year.

Meanwhile, Research and Markets said digital news subscription services with video as a publishing centerpiece exited the market in 2007, opting to embrace video advertising as the category's principal monetization driver.

Overall, the digital subscription and download media market grew more than 32% in 2012, with a near 53% CACR over the past 10  years when the market generated $271 million business in 2003.

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