Television in Italy at the time of coronavirus: the video streaming supremacy

According to ITMedia Consulting, online TV in Italy is growing faster and faster.

In a study on the evolution of the TV and video market in Italy, released in December, ITMedia Consulting forecast online TV (streaming) will reach 9.2 million Italian homes in 2021, compared with 5.9 million in 2019 (CAGR +25 per cent). This will make it the leading broadcast platform, surpassing DTT.

Online services will continue to grow for a number of reasons: the increasing investment made by Netflix and Amazon Prime Video in new Italian content; the launch of Disney+ (from March 24 2020) and Warner Media’s VOD service, expected later this year. The proliferation of new content also will enhance the role of aggregators, with Sky Italia and TIM likely to play a significant role. Consolidation may also occur, an example being Mediaset’s ‘pan-European’ project, aimed at integrating the Italian and Spanish markets with the new German venture (25% acquisition of ProsiebenSat1).

This trend will continue and even accelerate, according to Augusto Preta, ITMedia’s CEO and IIC Director, as the COVID-19 outbreak has led to increased media consumption in many countries around the world. A Nielsen report claims that on the weekend of March 13 to 14, time spent streaming TV and video grew by more than 40 percent in Austria and Spain, and by 32 percent in Germany and Italy. Efforts to stem the spread of the virus have encouraged individuals to enjoy in-home entertainment and, given their popularity, it is inevitable that VOD platforms will see an uptick in usage during this time.