It is no secret the COVID-19 pandemic has forced many industries to adapt to the world’s current state to stay afloat. An industry that knows this too well is the film and television industry.
The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in movie theatres remaining mostly shut or limited in seating. The limited seating and concessions have not been enough to support movie theatres, and those who made the films being screened.
According to a recent report by William Chapman for IBIS World, box office revenue worldwide, especially in Australia, has been on a steady decline over the past five years.
To illustrate, 2019 saw Australia’s revenue at 1.78 billion, whereas 2020’s revenue was 1.16 billion. As of March 2021, Australia’s box office revenue sits at 0.66 billion.
Cinema Revenue (16-21) in AUS
Beautiful, easy data visualization and storytelling
With cinemas closed again for the time being, Australians have turned to various streaming services to consume various films and television.
This is hurting cinemas since the decline in box office revenue over the past five years has been due to the “significant competition from consumers downloading or streaming films at home”.
Consumers only want the best service for their money, and with 30 paid streaming service plans available to Australians it is difficult to decide where to spend money.
People decide what to subscribe to by looking at aspects such as price per month (or annually if available), video quality, how many devices can stream from the service at a time, and of course what movies and television are available.
Finder.com.au has compared each streaming service plan available in the country, including the recently made available Paramount Plus. The data compares each streaming service deal by the factors previously outlined.
Streaming Prices in AUS
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To afford multiple streaming services per month adds up quickly and can be quite costly. This isn’t great news during a time where people are being more conservative with their finances and how they spend it.
In the Household Impacts of COVID-19 Survey released in August 2020, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reported paid streaming services only made up 6.1% of how stimulus checks were spent. Streaming services were the second lowest reason listed, only in front of ‘home improvements/maintenance or gardening’.
Stimulus Checks Spent in 2020 AUS
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These numbers demonstrate households don’t want to pay too much for multiple streaming services per month and would rather spend that money elsewhere.
With a significant decline in cinema box office revenue and the overwhelming streaming service market, it isn’t an easy time to decide where to spent money for entertainment.
(Featured Image: Standard TV remote which helps TV and movie watchers decide what to watch next, with streaming becoming the new way to consume film and television. OLIVIA THOMSON)
