Entertainment sales hit £7.8bn as streaming growth continues
Sales of video, music and games grew 2.4 per cent last year to hit an all-time record of £7.8bn, according to figures published today.
The Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA) said the rising sales, which mark the seventh consecutive year of growth, was once again driven by the popularity of digital streaming.
In 2019 streaming accounted for just under 82 per cent of the overall entertainment market. Less than a decade ago, it was physical formats that accounted for 80 per cent of revenue.
The fastest growing sector was video, which rose 9.5 per cent in value to £2.61bn. This was largely driven by digital video revenues, which jumped a fifth to £2.1bn as more consumers signed up to subscription services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime.
Nearly 50 per cent of the UK population now subscribes to a streaming video service, accounting for two-thirds of the video market.
This success was mirrored in the music market, where total revenue rose 7.1 per cent to £1.4bn.
While music streaming continued its growth, digital gaming faltered for the first time in 2019 with growth of just 1.1 per cent.
Overall, gaming’s dominance has slipped as games sales for both Playstation 4 and Xbox One declined.
However, at £3.8bn the gaming sector remains the largest subsection of the market, and is almost as valuable as music and video combined.
The figures revealed the ongoing shift towards online purchases thanks to the rise of e-commerce sites such as Amazon.
Aside from streaming and downloads, online purchases of physical entertainment formats accounted for almost 90 per cent of entertainment revenue last year.
ERA chief executive Kim Bayley described the figure as “extraordinary”.
“The internet now accounts for 90p in every pound spent on entertainment,” she said. “It is quite simply the most dramatic revolution in entertainment retailing ever seen.”