We may as well throw the DVD and Blu-ray into the same mix.
In its annual Theatrical Home Entertainment Market Environment report, the Motion Picture Association of America described an immensely sharp drop-off of physical media sales over the past five years. According to the data, which was obtained from DEG and IHS Markit, global sales of video disc formats (which in this context means DVD, Blu-ray, and UltraHD Blu-ray) were $25.2 billion in 2014 but only $13.1 in 2018. That's a drop in the ballpark of
50 percent.
With drops that sharp, you'd expect apocalyptic financials for companies making and distributing movies. However, while there are certainly losers in this trend, the overall industry actually grew over the same period. Home entertainment spending grew 16 percent in 2018 thanks to surges in consumer spending on
digital video services from players like
Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu.
The global number of
subscriptions to online streaming services grew 27 percent to 613.3 million in 2018, surpassing cable subscriptions (at 556 million) for the first time ever. However, cable still drives more overall revenue than streaming—it was the highest revenue platform in 2018, with $118 billion globally.
Subscriptions are
expected to grow significantly over the next couple of years, as major players like Disney, Apple, and WarnerMedia introduce new streaming services to compete with existing players like HBO and Netflix.
Don't expect 8K Blu-rays or other emerging quality-focused formats to turn the tide, either. Market data published by Forbes showed that the aging, low-definition DVD format still accounts for 57.9 percent of physical media sales, and
4K Blu-rays are only 5.3 percent.