Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1126636
48 DGA QUARTERLY t's hard, sometimes, to see beyond our own backyard. Every Sunday, the media pounces on that weekend's domestic box-o ce numbers. What succeeded? What failed? What defied expectations? It's a fun exercise, but it's ultimately a lop-sided view of the industry—one that doesn't take into account the increasing dominance of the international box-office business. In fact, in 2018, while the domestic (U.S. and Canada) box o ce was $11.9 billion, the international number was $29.2 billion. Roughly 800 million people live in North America and Western Europe, which have traditionally been the focus of the Western media and the entertainment industry. The rest of the world, though, is populated by 6.8 billion people. (Fig.1) And economic devel- opment, trade and technological advances are providing opportunities that hardly existed just a few years ago, dramatically expanding the potential global audience for all forms of video content. All of this is having a pronounced e ect on the pres- ent and future business of fi lm and television. It's a startling realiza- tion, given how U.S.-centric our focus has been. It's no surprise that the story of subscription video on demand (SVOD) is not a mere repetition of the feature tale, but an essential dynamic of this fast-rising business model. When looking at Netfl ix or its competitors, media reports often center on the growth of the company's U.S. subscriber numbers. But it's a misguided view that doesn't take into account what SVOD services themselves, and the stock market, see as the most impor- tant growth story: international. Netflix and Amazon, the largest U.S. SVOD companies, while still early in their international roll-outs, are driving enor- mous growth of their subscriber bases. While Netflix didn't put an emphasis on expansion beyond the U.S. until 2016, its number of international subscribers already eclipsed those in the U.S. by the end of the second quarter of 2017. And by the end of 2018, the company had amassed a staggering 81 million international sub- scribers, while those in the U.S. totaled 58 million. (Fig.2) Amazon Prime Video also began its global push in 2016. And while the disparity isn't quite as large, DGA estimates show that its international subscribers (39 million at the end of 2018) also top domestic subscribers (37 million). It is likely that this trend will continue and accelerate. ILLUSTRATED BY GORDON STUDER I THE GLOBAL MARKET FOR SVOD PROGRAMMING IS OUTPACING NORTH AMERICA, AND HAVING A PROFOUND IMPACT ON THE FUTURE OF THE FILM AND TELEVISION BUSINESS | BY C H R I S M O R R I S S T R E A M I N G ' S E X P A N D I N G L A N D S C A P E FIG. 1