Italy set for video growth in 2021 following COVID decline

Despite being ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic, Italy’s video entertainment market is set for ‘vigorous growth’ in 2021.

According to a new report from Futuresource Consulting, Italy will recover from a difficult 2020 in which the video entertainment sector will decline to €3.5 billion. However, an upsurge in SVOD subscriptions will see a return to growth building to a projected €5 billion in 2024.

The firm noted that the Italian SVOD market will enter a new growth phase. Currently only one in four Italian households subscribe to an SVOD service, with stay-at-home orders and new service offerings like Disney+, contributing to growing adoption of OTT products. Amazon Prime Video and Netflix will combine to reach nine million subscribers by the end of 2020, providing a ready market for further expansion.

Tristan Veale, market analyst at Futuresource Consulting, said: “On track to reach almost 11 million subscriptions in 2020, SVoD is only just beginning to accelerate. From a projected €522 million in consumer spend this year, Futuresource expects the market to triple, achieving more than €1.5 billion by 2024 and accounting for more than one third of total video entertainment spend.”