Skip to main content

OTT Video Entertainment will Reach $42.34B in 2020

The growth of the over-the-top (OTT) video entertainment industry was previously a primary concern of the American pay-TV sector, as more and more consumers chose to abandon the traditional high-cost cable and satellite TV services. Now this transition has become a worldwide phenomena.

Global online video entertainment revenues -- over fixed broadband networks within 51 reported countries -- will reach $42.34 billion in 2020. That's up significantly from $3.96 billion recorded in 2010 and the $19.03 billion expected in 2014, according to the latest market study by Digital TV Research.

Following the prior trend, the U.S. market will remain the dominant OTT territory for online TV and streaming video revenues.

However, its share of total revenues will drop from 59 percent in 2010 (when the U.S. recorded revenues of $2,326 million) to 37 percent in 2020 ($15,527 million) as the international markets catch up.

China's online television and video revenues will soar from just $37 million in 2010 to $3,033 million in 2020 -- to push China up to third place in the world rankings, with Japan in second place.

In addition to growing consumer demand, online video advertising has been the key driver for the OTT sector, with revenues of $8.3 billion expected in 2014 -- that's up from $2.4 billion in 2010.

Rapid advertising expenditure growth will continue, to reach a global total of $18.1 billion in 2020 -- as more advertisers shift spending away from legacy broadcast media channels.

Online television and video subscription revenues [SVOD] will climb from $1.06 billion in 2010 to $7.65 billion in 2014 and onto $16.77 billion in 2020. This means that SVOD will contribute 40 percent of total OTT revenues in 2020 -- that's up from 27 percent in 2010.

The U.S. generated online TV and video subscription revenues of $793 million in 2010, or 75 percent of the global total. Although its revenues will climb by 667 percent to $6,086 million, the American market will only account for 36 percent of the 2020 total.

Online TV and video rental/pay-per-view revenues will expand rapidly, climbing from $197 million in 2010 to $2,800 million in 2020. Download-to-own revenues are forecast to be $4,641 million in 2020 -- that's up from $332 million in 2010.

Popular posts from this blog

How Online Video Exceeded Pay-TV Revenue

The global streaming industry has spent the better part of a decade chasing subscriber counts as the primary metric of success. That era is now formally over. New market data from Omdia confirms that the industry has crossed a decisive threshold; one that shifts the competitive playing field from growth-at-all-costs to monetization discipline. For senior executives navigating media, advertising, and technology strategy, the implications extend well beyond entertainment. A Historic Revenue Crossover Online video revenue increased 13.5 percent to $176 billion in 2025, while pay-TV revenue declined 4 percent to $170 billion; marking the first time in the industry's history that streaming has surpassed legacy pay-TV in revenue terms. This is not a rounding error or a statistical artifact; it represents the culmination of more than a decade of structural disruption to the traditional broadcast and cable TV model. Global subscriptions to online video services reached 2.24 billion by the ...