European VOD continues to grow

There are currently over 3,000 video on-demand services in Europe, according to a survey carried out by the European Audiovisual Observatory (EAO).

The EAO identified 3,087 on-demand services in May, including catch-up TV and a range of VOD platforms. Of these, 2,733 were based in the EU, and across Europe overall, the EAO found that there were 76 subscription VOD services.

48 film VOD services are established in the UK, followed by 34 in France and 33 in Germany.

45.3%, of the 920 VoD services in the database (all countries and types combined) are operated by American groups, either from the United States or via subsidiaries in Europe.

The EAO estimates that in total, 52% of VOD services that are available in a particular country are established in a separate country, which, according to the Observatory, makes the implementation of national content creation rules more difficult to enforce.

The survey also found that there are an increasing number of multi-platform services (fixed or mobile internet, cable, IPTV, sometimes digital terrestrial), as well as film VOD services available in the form of applications for tablets and Smart TVs.