Eastern European OTT Revenues Forecast to Triple

According to Digital TV Research, OTT TV episode and movie revenues for 22 Eastern European countries will reach $3.51 billion in 2023, more than triple the $1.01 billion recorded in 2017.

The Eastern Europe OTT TV and Video Forecasts report estimates that Russia will account for 40 percent of the region’s OTT revenues by 2023, with Poland generating a further 23 percent. From the $2.5 billion additional revenues between 2017 and 2023, Russia will provide $994 million, with Poland bringing in a further $537 million.

Simon Murray, principal analyst at Digital TV Research, said: “We believe that Russia will achieve this growth with little help from international players. Foreign ownership restrictions on OTT platforms limit companies such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. Luckily for Russia, there are plenty of homegrown platforms.”

SVOD became the region’s largest OTT revenue source in 2017. SVOD revenues will reach $2.25 billion by 2023 (64 percent of total OTT revenues)—up from $515 million in 2017 (51 percent of total OTT revenues).

Russia will overtake Poland to become the SVOD revenue leader in 2018. Russia’s SVOD revenues will reach $766 million by 2023—or 34 percent of the regional total. Poland will provide another $598 million—or 27 percent.

The report estimates 22.1 million SVOD subscribers by 2023, triple the 7.1 million recorded by end-2017.