US content loses lustre in Europe as streaming surges

Fundamentally, the study from MIPTV and Whip Media noted that it seems inevitable that with more content, a greater diversity of sources producing it would be required. It added that competition for audiences is encouraging platforms to seek out compelling content, wherever it is produced.

In addition to finding programming from diverse, previously under-represented markets, the increased number of OTT services teaming with local production companies and rediscovering homegrown talent in the countries they serve are changing dynamics.

Although still the dominant provider of programming to Europe, over the last three years US content has declined an average of 10 percentage points as a share of overall viewership in key European territories. Spurred by the relatively new EU policy requiring 30% of content be “European work,” the net result is that US content is likely to capture a smaller percentage of business going forward.

In addition, the analysis revealed that viewing that had been going to US content has moved to programming from the local country, Asia, and a wide variety of other countries. The shift away from US content was said to be the result of the migration of viewing toward OTT services, which has led platforms to look beyond the US for programming to differentiate themselves and satisfy demand.

Moreover, the international platforms are competing against each other, as well as the local players, which is igniting demand for more local product.

Concluding, MIPTV and Whip Media said that buyers and sellers of content needed to understand the audience that content will serve, and understand it in a variety of dimensions. One of those dimensions can be country of origin as culture inevitably informs art. It said that if a platform’s audience was responding to a country’s programmes, that is a trend that can be exploited. Conversely, a lack of content from a country could be interpreted as an opportunity. Whatever the strategy, understanding which countries’ content was resonating was another arrow in the quiver. Rapid TV News