U.S. Consumers Spent a Record $32B on Home Entertainment in 2021

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Streaming video subscription revenue also set a record, rising by 19.8% to $25.3B last year

Pixabay
(Image credit: Pixabay)

LOS ANGELES—Consumer spending on home entertainment continued to grow rapidly in 2021, with overall physical and digital home entertainment spending growing by 7.8% to a record $32.3 billion in 2021, according to the Digital Entertainment Group.  

Most of the spending was digital. Its “Year-end 2021 Home Entertainment Report” found that consumers spent almost $8 billion on digital entertainment purchases (EST), rentals (VOD) and subscriptions in the fourth quarter of 2021, an increase of 15 percent over a year earlier and $29.5 billion for the full year, a jump of nearly 12 percent from 2020.  

Spending on subscription streaming rose 19 percent for the fourth quarter to $6.6 billion and 20 percent for full year 2021 to $29.3 billion. 

Digital rentals (VOD), however, experienced a decline of 6.3% in the fourth quarter and fell by 23.8% in 2021 to $1.8 billion and electronic purchases (EST) also fell, dropping $19.2% to $2.4 billion. 

The full report and additional data is available here. 

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George Winslow
George Winslow

George Winslow is the senior content producer for TV Tech. He has written about the television, media and technology industries for nearly 30 years for such publications as Broadcasting & Cable, Multichannel News and TV Tech. Over the years, he has edited a number of magazines, including Multichannel News International and World Screen, and moderated panels at such major industry events as NAB and MIP TV. He has published two books and dozens of encyclopedia articles on such subjects as the media, New York City history and economics.