Australian video entertainment market achieves 4.9% growth, as local content climbs up the agenda

The Australian video entertainment market is in full flow, achieving 4.9% revenue growth in 2023, to end the year at AU$6.6 billion, equivalent to around USD$4.3 billion. That’s according to a new video insights report from Futuresource Consulting, which identifies SVoD and box office as the primary revenue growth drivers. 

SVoD strategies double subscribers

“SVoD is blazing the way,” says James Duvall, Head of Entertainment and Principal Analyst, Futuresource Consulting. “We’ve seen significant consumer uptake over the last few years, which culminated in year-on-year revenue growth of 18% in 2023. What’s more, SVoD spending represented 49% share of total video market revenue. 

“Since 2019, subscriptions have almost doubled, stimulated by a wide range of service provider strategies. These include the introduction of new tiers, both ad-funded and premium, engagement with local Australian content, the implementation of price rises, and bundling with Pay-TV providers.” 

Local content a future driver of growth

The Australian government’s strong focus on driving local content has even led to an international campaign to provide better protection for local screen industries. In February 2024, Screen Producers Australia (SPA) issued a joint statement, along with New Zealand, Canada and European countries, demanding regulations to force streaming services to make more native content. Futuresource expects this initiative to boost the segment’s growth trajectory even further over the coming years. 

Box office on the up

Australian box office continues to trace a positive trajectory, with attendance rising to more than 58 million ticket sales, and an average ticket price increase of 4% in 2023. A strong release slate, which included Barbie, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, helped to spur on the segment. John Farnham: Finding the Voice was the highest-earning Australian film in 2023, securing 23% of total domestic earnings. 

Yet, despite the growth, admissions were still 46% lower and gross box office was 25% lower, when compared to 2019 pre-COVID levels. 

“Moving forward, we expect the theatrical sector to grow slowly,” says Duvall. “It is still finding its feet after the writers’ and actors’ strikes of last year, and some titles originally planned for release this year will shift into 2025.” 

Pay-TV continues to struggle

Looking to Pay-TV, the segment represented almost one in every three dollars spent last year. However, Futuresource notes that Pay-TV revenue continues to decline, and by 2028 expects it to have contracted to a 21% share.  

IPTV is the only Pay-TV segment still experiencing growth, up five percentage points last year, and accounting for 37% of total Pay-TV households, as operators prioritise IPTV over other business segments.  

Continuing growth expected from the sector

“Looking ahead, we expect total consumer spend on video entertainment to grow by an average of 2% per year between 2024 and 2028,” says Duvall. This will culminate in revenues of AU$7.4 billion in 2028, despite steady declines projected within the Pay-TV and packaged media markets.” 

Futuresource Consulting’s Video Insights: Australia report reviews the overall video entertainment market in Australia and assesses the impactors and drivers as the sector transitions to digital. Key areas covered include online video, Pay-TV VoD, physical home video, subscription Pay-TV and box office. For more information or to make a purchase, please contact Ben at ben.thrussell@futuresource-hq.com. 

About the author

James Duvall

James Duvall joined Futuresource as the Principal Analyst for Entertainment in November 2022. He is responsible for the delivery of all consumer research and projects across Home Entertainment, covering over twenty regions for Futuresource’s Video Insight reports, the bi-annual Living with Digital survey, and the bi-annual Music Streaming report. Before Futuresource, James spent six years leading the insight and research programme at the British Association of Screen Entertainment and the Digital Entertainment Group International (DEGI), building upon his wealth of experience within insight teams for US Studios.