Streaming service subscriptions passed 1 billion globally during pandemic

Subscriptions to online video services reached over 1 billion for the first time ever during the coronavirus pandemic, an industry trade group found. 

The Motion Picture Association reported that there are 1.1 billion subscriptions globally, marking a 26 percent year-over-year growth. The home and mobile entertainment market globally reached $68.8 billion in revenue, which was a 32 percent increase in growth from 2019.

Subscriptions reached over 308 million in the U.S. alone, which was a 32 percent increase from 2019, and the overall home and mobile entertainment market in the U.S. grew by 21 percent to $30 billion in revenue.

Home streaming platforms include services like Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, Hulu and Peacock.

Closures and stay-at-home orders due to the pandemic, which caused movie theaters to close across the world, led to an overall decrease in entertainment revenue. The success of home entertainment helped offset some of the decreases in the global box office market.

The global theatrical revenue combined with the home entertainment revenue reached $80.8 billion in 2020, which was an 18 percent decrease from 2019.

“Theatrical and home entertainment remain two essential parts of this dynamic and iconic industry, and I am confident that movie theaters will experience a great comeback in the months ahead,” Charles Rivkin, chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association, said in a statement. 

The Classification and Rating Administration (CARA), which determines movies’ ratings, rated 497 films in 2020, which marks only the second time in the past decade that CARA rated more films in a year than in the previous year. In 2019, CARA rated 488 films.