Last week, the European Audiovisual Observatory (EAO) published the 2024 edition of its Audiovisual Media Services in Europe report. Authored by Agnes Schneeberger, the study provides insights into the European audiovisual sector from two perspectives. The first angle sheds light on the so-called “big picture” by “focusing on the supply of television channels, on-demand services and video-sharing platforms [VSPs] available in and originating from the European markets”.

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The second perspective surveys “the main players operating in Europe, with a specific focus on the top 20 TV and VoD groups, and their presence in the various European markets”, with particular attention paid “to the weight of US players in the European audiovisual sector, their main brands and operating markets”.

The first key finding shows that, as of December 2023, Europe’s audiovisual sector hosts a total of 12,703 audiovisual media services and VSPs. Hereafter, Europe refers to the 27 member states of the European Union, plus Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Montenegro, North Macedonia, the Republic of Moldova, Norway, Serbia, Switzerland, Turkey, the UK, and Ukraine.

Around three-quarters of these services are linear services (9,434 TV channels) and one-quarter are non-linear (3,269 VoD services and video-sharing platforms).

Moreover, 23% of all private TV channels (excluding local TV networks) and 8% of all on-demand services and VSPs in Europe are US-owned. Generally, US TV channel portfolios are significantly larger than European ones, with 71% of channels in the top ten TV groups owned by five US-based firms.

Notably, US players all operate fully on the pan-European level, serving numerous European markets. In detail, 11 TV and VoD groups are present in at least 30 different European markets, and nine of them are US-based.

AT&T's Warner Bros Discovery brands such as Animal Planet, Cartoon Network, Discovery, Eurosport and HBO MAX are “virtually omnipresent”, with 46 European markets covered. Walt Disney, Amazon, Netflix, Comcast and Paramount all operate in 40 or more European markets. Overall, European players have lower market presence compared to Chinese, Japanese and US players, the study highlights.

“The top pan-European players are either multi-brand players, like Comcast, active in both the TV and VoD markets, or single-brand players, like Netflix, with a focus on on-demand markets. When branching out, top players build their on-demand presence in markets where they already have a TV presence. Overall, most broadcasters in the top 20 ranking launched VoD services,” the report adds.

Besides, the EAO report finds that “the content of AV services in Europe reveals significant differences between linear and non-linear services […]. While TV programming is largely defined by thematic fragmentation, on-demand services and VSPs still have a clear focus on entertainment, film and TV fiction content.”

Nevertheless, local audiences still carry significant weight, as 42% of TV channels in Europe are regional and local TV services.

Zooming in on the topic of ownership, the EAO indicates that Europe’s TV market is divided into “a public sector with mainly generalist programming available on DTT networks” and “a private sector that has expanded into thematic cable, IPTV and satellite channels”. Furthermore, almost all on-demand services and VSPs are privately owned (97%). Meanwhile, public service media have entered the market as well, gradually expanding their catch-up services into full-fledged VoD services.

You can read the full report here.