US digital entertainment spend soared in 2014, says DEG

Consumer spend across key digital entertainment categories grew at double digit pace last year, according to statistics from the US-based Digital Entertainment Group (DEG).

The industry association said in its year-end 2014 Home Entertainment Report that subscription video-on-demand spend was up 25% year-on-year in Q4 2014, and by the same amount for the full year.

Electronic sell-through (EST) spend rose by 24% in the fourth quarter versus the same period last year with overall EST for 2014 up 30% year-on-year, coming in at more than US$1.5 billion (€1.3 billion), according to the DEG.

It added that EST for theatrical new releases climbed by more than 60% in 2014 and said that total US home entertainment spending topped nearly US$18 billion for the year.

Citing figures provided by the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem (DECE), the body behind the UltraViolet initiative, the DEG said the number of UV accounts grew by more than 30% in 2014, with the total number currently at more than 21 million.

“HDTV penetration is now at more than 95 million households. All Blu-ray playback devices (including set-tops and game consoles) are at 70 million US households,” said the DEG.

The DEG is a US-based industry association that advocates and promotes entertainment platforms, products and distribution channels onbehalf of motion picture, music, consumer electronics and technology companies.

Its board of directors includes executives from companies including Walt Disney Studios, Universal Studios, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Samsung, Philips, Microsoft and Intel.