Strengthened By Netflix, France’s SVOD Market Nearly Doubled In 2017 (Report)

France’s subscription video market experienced exponential growth in 2017 — to the tune of $205 million over the first nine months of the year. That’s nearly double the amount that SVOD earnings clocked over the same period in 2016, according to a report released by France’s National Film Board (the CNC), per Variety.

The overall video-on-demand market — for which the CNC includes all video rentals, purchases, and subscriptions — also experienced seismic growth this year, according to the study, which was conducted by market research firm GfK and local outfit NPA Conseil. Overall VOD sales totaled $416 million for the first nine months of 2017, a 37% year-over-year increase. The report estimates that overall VOD earnings will total $594 million by year’s end — an annual increase of more than a third.

That said, this is the first time that revenues from subscription services accounted for more than half of all VOD revenues. The study attributes much of this growth to Netflix

, which has more than 2,905 titles in France — as opposed to Amazon Prime’s relatively paltry offering of 558 films and shows. (To be fair, Prime Video only launched in the country at the beginning of the year). Local players like Altice’s SFR Play, Canal Plus Group’s Canal Play, and Wild Bunch’s Filmo TV comprise the bulk of subscriber volumes after Netflix, according to Variety.

“There are no more boundaries between an old world, where only films and TV existed, and a new world driven by internet and digital consumption,” CNC president Frederique Bredin said in a statement. “We must take into account all the aspects of the digital revolution and the evolution of users’ consumption habits.”