Video Entertainment Market in France will Reap Long-Term Gains from COVID-19

Video Entertainment Market Insights and Commentary

4 Aug 2020 - France’s video entertainment market is expected to gain long-term benefits from the COVID-19 pandemic, with an anticipated uplift in sector revenues which is marginally higher than previous market forecasts. That’s according to a new report from Futuresource Consulting, pointing to stay-at-home requirements as a springboard for French SVoD, combined with a longer-term societal shift that will signal a return to strength for many segments of the market.

“The industry narrative in France is a now-familiar story,” says Tristan Veale, Market Analyst at Futuresource Consulting. “Video entertainment and the COVID-19 situation is being played out in similar ways across many countries. However, France has a set of circumstances that could work in its favour. French consumer attitudes to SVoD were already taking shape, with rapid Netflix adoption over the last three years, but lockdown has encouraged those to try services who were previously reluctant. As a result, we expect SVoD to drive video spend to new levels over the next five years.”

SVoD in ascendance and boosted higher

In 2019, SVoD subscriptions increased by 71%, with SVoD households taking 1.9 services on average. Futuresource expects a similar increase this year, with upward pressure being applied due to an array of market movements. This includes the Disney+ launch, Salto joining the market, Netflix in a strong growth phase, Amazon Prime building ecommerce presence and related Prime Video usage, as well as healthy uptake of Apple TV+.

EST growth prospects

Futuresource also identifies EST movies as a strong growth area this year, with a 13% increase in transactions. Orange retains its market leadership position, as well as increasing its EST capability among subscribers, with around 90% of installed set-top boxes now enabled for EST title purchases. Canal VoD, Apple, the Amazon launch, and Bouygues launching EST capabilities in May 2020 have all added weight to the market.

“There’s no getting away from it, there are some low points on the landscape, with Box Office and Pay-TV compromised by the Coronavirus outbreak,” says Veale. “It’s a frustrating situation, as we expected 2020 to be a strong year for French cinemas after a return to growth of the video market in 2019. However, this is simply a short-term blip and the market will see a correction.”

Long-term opportunities

“Despite the turmoil, there are multiple opportunities within video entertainment, and the industry will look back on 2020 as a catalyst for digital growth. Our forecasts show total consumer spend will increase by an average of 3% per year out to 2024, achieving annual revenues of €8.4 billion by the end of the forecast period.”

For further information on Futuresource Consulting’s France Video Insights report, please contact Kailash Morjaria via kailash.morjaria@futuresource-hq.com.

About the author

Tristan Veale

Throughout Tristan’s career he has provided thought leading research and insights on the consumption of Motion Pictures, Film and TV series. Now positioned as a leading analyst within the TV and Video content research team at Futuresource Consulting, Tristan informs content creators, distributors and CE manufacturers on the shifting and fragmenting media landscape, helping Futuresource’s clients stay up to date in terms of what consumers want to watch, where they want to watch it, and on which devices.