European digital content industry will triple by 2026

The consumption of video, music and video games is increasingly rising. User interest in these services is growing along with digitization and the subscronomics movement. We are living in a real technological revolution! That is why Telecoming has conducted a study on the evolution of digital content consumption trends in Europe.

Last year, the European digital content industry reached almost €45.3B in terms of revenues. Thanks to the user base and the average cost per content increase, this figure will go €114,6B in five years (x3). 

In 2021, 498 million Europeans accessed digital content and spent an average of €15 per month. 52% of total revenue came from digital video format, digital games (34%) and digital music (14%). The study concludes that the consumption trend will go up. In 2026 a total of 606 million users will consume digital content and increase their monthly spending to €30,5 per month. The video games sector, perhaps driven by the efforts of many companies to construct their metaverse, will be the sector that will experience the most significant growth. In five years, it will account for 47% of the total income of the digital content industry, above video (42%) and music services (12%).

According to Roberto Monge, Chief Operations Officer at Telecoming, “The European digital content industry is very dynamic, and the average spending will continue growing in the coming years. The subscription model will predominate because it meets users’ expectations. The UK and Germany are the leading digital and mobile entertainment markets, with great growth potential.”

9 out of 10 Europeans pay for digital music services

The British digital music market is, like the video market, the largest at the European level (which will register in 2026 €16B. 18% of Britons accessed a digital music service in 2021; this percentage will increase to 22% in the next five years. 97% of these will also subscribe to a digital music service paying €10.8 per subscription (average). This is also a general trend at the European level. In 2021, 93% of digital music users subscribed to at least one service and the percentage will reach 98% in 2026.

The video games, the most significant growth

We have also analyzed the evolution of the mobile video game market. 62% of Europeans will access this type of content in 2026, nine points more than at the end of 2021. Germany has the most mobile game users on the continent with a total of 49.8M in 2021, followed by the UK, with 44.8M. Both countries will add followers in the coming years (+14 M in Germany and +11.4 in the UK). European mobile gamers played almost 2B games in 2021, which will increase to 2,3B games in 2026.

The evolution of the mobile gaming market will be an unprecedented growth. It is expected that €15,6B in 2021 will generate €68,6B in 2026. This growth will undoubtedly go hand in hand with the consolidation of the metaverse, the next big thing where the leading technology industry players are already investing.

“The monetization of digital content continues to be a challenge for sectors such as the media. Adopting simple payment models, like Direct Carrier Billing, will help these numbers grow in the coming years. I would like us to fall short in our analysis,” said Roberto Monge.

At Telecoming, we will continue to report on the evolution of digital content through this type of analysis. Interested?

Subscribe to our newsletter below, and don’t miss a thing!