Berlin, August 31, 2023 – The offering and demand for pay TV and paid video content continues to grow in Germany, despite the current difficult market environment and economic climate with rising financial burden for consumers.
The offering and demand for pay TV and paid video content continues to grow in Germany, despite the current difficult market environment and economic climate with rising financial burden for consumers.
In 2022, revenues for pay TV and paid video-on-demand in Germany rose by nearly 5 % to €4.9 billion. Looking ahead, VAUNET projects an 8 % revenue growth for 2023, estimating turnover of €5.3 billion. The German-speaking GSA region, encompassing Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, mirrors this growth trend. The region boasted a revenue increase of approximately 4 % in 2022, amassing €5.8 billion, and is poised to exceed €6 billion (forecasted €6.3 billion) for the first time in 2023.
VAUNET(German Media Association), the umbrella organization for commercial audiovisual media in Germany, highlighted these trends in its newly released annual report, “Pay TV and Paid-VoD in Germany”. Unveiled today, this report covers the industry’s performance for both 2022 and the projections for 2023.
It reports that the number of pay TV subscriptions in Germany rose to 10.1 million in 2022, a shift from 9.6 million in the previous year. On the viewership front, AGF-licensed pay TV channels garnered a monthly average reach of 17.7 million pay TV viewers in the first half of 2023. This year, VAUNET anticipates a marginal increase in video streaming subscriptions, rounding off to approximately 10.3 million. Additionally, by the end of 2022, Germany had 19.8 million SVoD subscriptions. VAUNET predicts this number will breach the 20 million threshold this year, reaching an estimated 20.8 million.
Statements by industry representatives
© Markus Altmann
Frank Giersberg, Managing Director of VAUNET
“The overall positive market development in 2022 underlines the unwavering allure of pay TV, streaming and on-demand services in Germany. We predict further market growth in terms of usage and turnover for the coming years – which however depends to a large extent on the regulatory landscape and framework. Additional burdens such as Government-induced investment obligations weaken market dynamics, while incentive models would provide positive momentum.”
© Michael Tinnefeld
Tim Werner, CEO of Mainstream Media and Chair of the VAUNET Pay TV Working Group
“Amidst a challenging environment, the demand for pay TV and streaming services keeps climbing in German-speaking regions. Our performance at Mainstream Media AG corroborates this trend. We’re particularly elated about the viewer acclaim for Heimatkanal and Romance TV. Effective collaboration with our platform partners remains a critical element for the success of all pay TV channels.”
© Sky / Philipp Rathmer
Elke Walthelm, Executive Vice President Content & Technology and Managing Director of Sky Deutschland
“Most people draw a line between streaming and aggregation, but my view is a different one: aggregation and streaming can actually complement each other perfectly well. Ultimately, content remains king, but the kingdom must have clearly signposted paths so that consumers can reach their destination quickly and intuitively – regardless of whether they watch their favourite content on-demand or linear.”
© RTL / Marina Rosa Weigl
Henning Nieslony, Chief Streaming Officer of RTL Deutschland
“As the current VAUNET figures also show, the streaming market in Germany is growing and is thus gaining further economic importance. However, we foresee market consolidation down the road. And we are firmly convinced that factors like variety, simplicity, and pricing will dictate the long-term industry leaders. We have therefore just expanded RTL+ into an all-inclusive entertainment package featuring series, reality shows, live sports, films, music, audio books, podcasts and magazines. We offer all this bundled in one app and at an unbeatable price.”
© Seven.One/Benedikt Müller
Nicole Agudo Berbel, Managing Director and Chief Distribution Officer Seven.One Entertainment Group
“Compelling content and easy product access are the key success factors for digital media offerings. To achieve this, we prioritize robust partnerships with all market players. Therefore we secure both highly attractive content and the best marketable reach for our products. On Joyn, we successfully combine our strong AVoD and SVoD content, over 70 on-demand channels and live TV. We also offer on-demand content via our partners’ platforms. With that we create flexible access to our content for the viewers – anytime and everywhere.”
© Bernd Jaworek
Michael Keidel, Vice President Affiliate, Ad Sales & Streaming Partnerships Northern Central Eastern Europe Paramount Global
„The successful launch and excellent development of Paramount+ in Germany shows that there is further growth potential in the streaming market. High-quality content that meets the high expectations of consumers is in demand. At the same time, we see a very stable development in the traditional pay-TV market for our premium kids‘ channels Nick Jr. and Nicktoons.“
© Warner Bros. Discovery
Marion Rathmann, VP & Head of Content & Programming of GSA Warner Bros. Discovery
“As media channels multiply, viewers gravitate towards the dependability and excellence of paid services, as demonstrated by the renewed increase in pay TV and VoD revenues in the GSA region. We’re delighted to be part of this positive development and intend to continue to set the tone with our successful local and international productions.”
Download der VAUNET-Pay-TV-Publikation:
VAUNET publication „Pay-TV & Paid-VoD in Germany 2022/2023“ (German language)
Other VAUNET publications
VAUNET monitors market developments in the audio and audiovisual media with regular surveys and publications. They include the VAUNET Media Usage Analysis published at the start of each year, the VAUNET Advertising Market Analysis put out in spring, the report Pay TV and Paid VOD in Germany featured here, and the Audio & Audiovisual Media Revenue Statistics published every autumn. This and other data on market developments can be downloaded at www.vau.net/presse/publikationen/studien/.
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