Video-on-demand services are set to see revenues more than double in the next few years as consumers turn away from scheduled TV services.
A study by Juniper Research estimates services such as Netflix are set to benefit from a boom in the market, with the revenues increasing from $14.6 billion in 2016 to $34.6 by 2021.
Other on-demand services, such as Amazon, are also expected to see growth.
The on-demand companies have been expanding rapidly, with Netflix launching in 130 countries simultaneously in January. It now serves 190 markets.
But it is facing competition from both Amazon Prime, which offers a streaming service in selected markets, and YouTube Red, which offers original content from creators to subscribers.
Deals being struck
It’s not all bad news for the networks. In the US, some are doing deals with services such as YouTube and
Hulu
who want to add some linear cable streaming to subscribers from next year.
Netflix, meanwhile, is having trouble keeping up its subscriber growth figures. The company has raised prices for its services, leading to some cancellations. In its most recent results it said it signed up 1.7 million new customers in the quarter that ended in June. That was lower than the projected 2.5 million.
“While Netflix has expanded its coverage globally, the test will be whether it can meet its original content production costs, as well as provide quality content to consumers,” said research author Lauren Foye.
“It is believed that US rival Hulu is now close to offering the same amount of content as Netflix, and others are pushing new models – such as Amazon’s monthly subscriptions to Prime video, and YouTube Red subscriptions for exclusive content.”
The study also found that internet service providers could be facing increased demands on their network as total TV and video data usage is expected to grow more than fivefold in the next five years.
Contributing to this is the rise of 4K or Ultra High Definition TV, which is expected to grow in popularity.
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