The Australian Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD) services market continues to show rapid growth, reaching 9.1 million subscriptions at the end of June 2018, a year-on-year jump of 54 per cent, according to new Telsyte research, with the analyst forecasting Australians will hold more than twice as many subscriptions (22 million) within the next four years.

“Consumers are becoming comfortable with multiple subscriptions and are subscribing to different providers for exclusive content and live sports,” said Telsyte MD Foad Fadaghi.

SVOD revenues in Australia grew substantially (up 90 per cent) reaching about A$700 million at the end of the 2018 financial year. Streaming entertainment – delivered to Internet connected devices such as smartphones, set top boxes, games consoles and smart TVs – is quickly becoming the mainstream way consumers view video content.

Overall, Telsyte estimates 43 per cent of Australian households subscribed to SVOD services at the end of June 2018, an increase from around 30 per cent a year ago. “This compares to around 70 per cent in the USA and 60 per cent in the UK, showing the growth opportunity within the next few years,” it added.

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The market leader is Netflix with around 3.9 million subscriptions, with Stan in second place with a little over 1 million. However, new services (e.g. Amazon Prime, Foxtel Now), and a growing list of popular sports and special interests are collectively feeding Australian’s hunger for video content.

New SVOD services, including potentially those from Disney, HBO and various sporting codes, are expected to appeal to even more audiences.

The research showed that Australians are increasingly comfortable with subscription-based entertainment services with millions turning to subscriptions for SVOD, music (e.g. Spotify, Apple Music), and game console memberships  (e.g. PlayStation Plus, Xbox Live Gold).

The adoption of SVOD services is putting pressure on traditional pay TV,  found in about one-third of Australian households (end of June 2018), a similar level to 2017. The growth of Fetch TV, which offers access to both SVOD and Pay TV content via its set top boxes, offset the decline in Foxtel subscriptions.