Deloitte: SVOD’s impact on Pay-TV “greatly exaggerated”

The impact of subscription video on-demand services (SVOD), such as Netflix, on pay-TV broadcasters has been “greatly exaggerated” according to consulting firm Deloitte.

In a The London Evening Standard report published on Monday, the firm’s director of technology, media & telecommunications, Paul Lee, said “the rise of Netflix doesn’t mean the demise of pay-TV.”

Deloitte forecasts SVOD will generate about £5 billion globally this year, amounting to only 3% of the £168 billion pay-TV market.

Deloitte’s annual TMT Predictions report, due to be published on 13 January, states that SVOD should be seen less as a direct competitor to pay-TV and more as a replacement for DVD box sets.

The Standard reports that Lee said the number of pay-TV homes has “barely shifted” in the US – despite services like Netflix gaining almost 40 million subscribers.