Preliminary figures released Tuesday by trade organization Digital Entertainment Group (DEG) have revealed that physical disc sales and rentals of films and television feel steeply in 2017 as more and more people turn to streaming.
Disc sales were down by 14% last year, falling to $4.7 billion. That comes just one year after registering a decline of nearly 10%. The drop in physical rentals was even more visible with video rental stores and kiosk rentals declining a combined 17% – falling to just over $2 billion.
After eclipsing disc sales for the first time in 2016, subscription streaming numbers gained even more ground last year, expanding by more than 30%, to $9.5 billion. DEG redefined what they dub subscription streaming this year beyond Netflix to include an expanded list encompassing Hulu, Amazon, HBO Go and CBS All Access.
Total U.S. home entertainment spending came in at $20.5 billion, up by 5% and masking the steep declines in physical and digital sales and rentals. 4K discs have been no saviour either with 4K HD titles accounting for a measly $147 million in sales despite 15 million 4K HD TVs being sold last year.
