 As it emerged Aussie downloads have soared 36% in the last year, it now seems this is only the beginning for digital downloads.
Australia’s digital TV and film industry was worth almost $128 million in 2012 and entertainment industry boss predict further growth in digital downloads, streaming and VOD, which now accounts for 10% of total home entertainment sales including physical sales of DVDs, Blu-Ray. Downloads of TV series and movies are set to rise as much as 30%, Simon Bush, the CEO of Australian Home Entertainment Distributors Association (AHEDA), told SmartHouse this week. “Expect strong growth to continue, another 30 per cent growth target is not out of reach.”
However, pesky digital pirates need to be stamped out first of all, if the industry is to thrive, he warns. “When the government cracks down on piracy, research shows that sales increase and yes I would expect VoD service to mature in Australia but which platform will be dominant and when an SVoD service becomes available is unknown at this stage.” Top selling TV shows in Oz last year included Game of Thrones, True Blood and Gossip Girl, while The Hunger Games, What to Expect When You’re Expecting, SherlockHolmes and Red Dog were among the top movie titles. The largest digital market in Australia in terms of revenues were video on demand (VoD) services like Telstra’s Bigpond Movies and Quickflix (56%), followed by electronic TV (23%) and movie sales. “Digital sales in 2012 really took off and now exceed 10 per cent of total sales for the $1.174 billion Australian home entertainment industry” says Bush. |
