BVA report indicates that UK consumers spent £2.3bn on video last year, more than that spent on cinema and music combined; online spend growing but still only a fraction of total spend, which is declining.

Sales of video entertainment on DVD, Blu-ray and digital formats are “still the single biggest revenue source for the production of film and television drama in the UK”, claims a new report published by the British Video Association. 

The new report, carried out by Oxford Economics, highlights the ongoing importance of the video industry (including digital) to the film and tv sectors, despite overall physical revenues declining.

Last year, consumers spent £2.3bn on video (physical and digital rental and retail) entertainment, more than that spent on cinema (£1.1bn) and music combined. In the same period consumers spent £6.9bn on cable and satellite subscriptions.

The report highlights the home entertainment success of Senna as an example of video’s ongoing importance, revealing that the 62% of the film’s revenue came from video. Only 6% of Senna’s revenue came from box office, despite theatrically grossing £3m.

Paul was given as another example, making 60% revenue from video.

Eddie Cunningham, president, Universal Pictures International Entertainment said: “As the BVA’s report shows, video continues to be a critical part of the film industry’s ecosystem and a significant driver of revenue. Working Title’s Paul and Senna are two great examples of British filmmaking at its best, and the revenue generated from video – more than 60% coming from home entertainment on these titles – is hugely important in helping British producers like Working Title re-invest back into production and continue to create great films.”

However, while the report indicates that UK consumers spent £21.2m more on digital retail and £17.8m more on digital rental year-on-year, online retail and rental accounted only for 4.2% and 8.2% of total video spend, respectively.