Digital Movie Download Revenue Climbs To $1.5 Billion In 2014

Last year, the online masses seemed to warm up to the idea of digital TV and movie downloads. According to the Digital Entertainment Group (DEG), digital movie and TV show downloads increased 30% in 2014 to rake in almost $1.6 billion in total yearly revenue.

DEG discussed its recent findings on home entertainment spending at CES 2015 in Las Vegas. The industry group reported that 2014’s digital video sales were up 24% in the fourth quarter, likely getting a boost from the online distribution and sale of Sony Pictures’s The Interview. Consumers also spent lots of money on subscription-based streaming video services (like Netflix), which together saw an overall 26% yearly gain in 2014 to top $4 billion.

However, DEG didn’t have the same great news when it came to physical video products. Audiences purchased 11%

fewer DVDs and Blu-rays last year than they did in 2013; sales of those physical products still hit a not-too-shabby $6.9 billion. Additionally, physical video rental stores (yes, these still exist) lost 27% of their revenue in 2014 as compared to 2013, just managing to to take in $696 million.

Overall, DEG noted how home entertainment spending saw a decrease in 2014, dropping 1.8% to $17.8 billion. The numbers for home entertainment revenue may have been higher in 2014 had it not been for an inordinate amount of illegal downloading that occurred.