In 2024, the German home-video market reached a record-breaking revenue of €4.5 billion, marking a 4% increase compared to the previous year. This growth, however, represents a significant slowdown from 2023, which saw a 13% rise. This trend suggests a shift towards market consolidation after years of rapid expansion, particularly in subscription video on demand (SVoD), digital rentals and purchases, and physical media.

According to the latest figures from the FFA (Filmförderungsanstalt) and YouGov Shopper Intelligence, the total revenue from home-video services, including SVoD, transactional video on demand (TVoD) and electronic sell-through (EST), amounted to €3.7 billion. The sector experienced an 8% growth compared to 2023, a deceleration from the previous year’s 10% increase. These figures reflect continued success in digital video services, while traditional physical formats have seen ongoing declines.

In particular, SVoD continues to dominate, accounting for €2.9 billion in revenue – 80% of the market share. The segment grew by 11% in 2024, which is a slower pace than in previous years but still remains the key driver of market growth. However, this growth rate has slowed, suggesting that the market is maturing. TVoD and EST together contributed €473 million, with a slight 1% increase compared to 2023.

In stark contrast, the physical media market is on a continued downward trajectory. DVDs and Blu-rays together generated only €268 million in 2024, representing just 7% of the home-video market. This marks an 11% decline compared to the previous year, with DVDs alone experiencing a dramatic 18% drop to €134 million. Blu-ray sales remained steady at €134 million, albeit still down from previous years. This shift indicates an ongoing preference for digital formats over traditional, disc-based media.

A key insight from the 2024 report is the shifting demographics of home-video consumers. While younger age groups traditionally made up a significant portion of home-video consumption, the 40-59 age groups are now the most active in the transactional market (excluding SVoD). This demographic shift highlights a growing preference for digital content among older viewers, while younger consumers (those under 40) are showing a long-term decline in engagement with both physical media and even digital transactions.

Interestingly, the average age of SVoD users has increased to 44.9 years in 2024, up from 40.0 years the previous year. Despite this, SVoD users are still younger than the general population, indicating that streaming services continue to attract a broad spectrum of viewers, although older generations are increasingly adopting streaming as a primary form of media consumption.

While the digital home-video market continues to grow, the physical media sector is unlikely to see a significant reversal of its decline. Experts suggest that the future of the home-video market lies predominantly in digital formats, with SVoD continuing to dominate. However, as subscription prices rise and the market matures, growth in SVoD may slow down further in the coming years. Increasing competition among streaming platforms, combined with the diversification of content offerings, may result in a more saturated market, requiring platforms to differentiate themselves further.

The report also points to a potential trend in piracy, as some younger viewers, disenchanted with rising subscription prices and content fragmentation, may be turning to illegal streaming services. This mirrors trends in other regions, such as Norway, where piracy has been on the rise among young people (see the news).

The full report, Der Home-Video-Markt im Jahr 2024, offers deeper insights into these trends and is available (in German) on the FFA website.