European TV market sees limited growth in 2017
November 1, 2018
From Branislav Pekic in Rome
The total turnover of the Western European TV market in 2017 reached €98.7 billion, an increase of 0.5 per cent compared to 2016, lower than the inflation rate (1.4 per cent).
According to the XVI Annual Report of Rome-based ITMedia Consulting, in absolute values, pay-TV recorded a growth (+2.7 per cent) and the advertising market a decrease (-2.4 per cent).
The UK has seen a negative trend for both pay-TV and TV advertising, transferring all the growth and new consumption towards VoD streaming and online advertising.
Pay-TV has confirmed its leadership with a turnover of €46.3 billion however the situation from country to country is very different. The UK had a negative rate of -2.7 per cent, while Spain recorded a growth of 14 per cent.
Advertising continued to decline (-2.4 per cent over the previous year), with total revenues of €30.8 billion, due to the shift of resources from traditional media to the online market. In general, online advertising has now surpassed TV advertising in Western Europe, with the UK still holding the largest share of the market, followed by Germany.
Among the main trends are partnerships by traditional pay-TV providers with former OTT rivals to build customer loyalty, while cord-cutting begins to occur in countries where online is gaining more and more weight. Also, there has been a consolidation of broadcasters, until now less exposed to the crisis than other media, through M&A operations.
In terms of spending on TV programming, half is destined for original national content and the remaining 50 per cent on sports rights and imports. A number of broadcasters has managed to generate revenue from international and local licensing agreements. This influenced the lower growth in advertising revenues and the increase in premium content costs.
The live streaming of major sporting events has also grown, becoming an important part of the new generation TV offer. As demand for large TV screens increases, so is the demand for higher resolution, such as 8K.