Report: vMVPD & Direct-to-Consumer Revenues to “Rocket” Eightfold

According to a new report from Digital TV Research, revenues from virtual multichannel video programming distributors (vMVPDs) combined with those of direct-to-consumer services (D2C) are poised to reach $24 billion by 2023, eight times the $3 billion recorded in 2017.

vMVPD will outshine D2C, with its revenues more than triple the D2C total by 2023 in the 17 countries covered in the vMVPD and D2C TV Forecasts report. The report emphasizes that vMVPD and D2C are not mutually exclusive; many vMVPD platforms provide access to D2C platforms for an additional fee.

The U.S. will account for $12.34 billion in vMVPD revenues by 2023, which is two-thirds of the total. The only other country to earn more than $1 billion by 2023 will be the U.K.

Digital TV Research is forecasting 44 million D2C subscribers by 2023, up from 14 million at the end of 2017. The U.S. will account for 25 million D2C subs by 2023.

Simon Murray, principal analyst at Digital TV Research, said: “We forecast 77 million vMVPD subscribers by 2023, up from 21 million at end-2017. The U.S. will contribute 28 million to the 2023 total, with India supplying 16 million.”