Today, the Digital Entertainment Group International (DEGI) has announced that BBC Studios, Sony Pictures Entertainment and The Walt Disney Company, EMEA have become DEGI members, with immediate effect.
They join existing members Google, Lionsgate, Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures & Warner Bros. Pictures, in what promises to be another exciting year of growth and transformation for the digital market.
The DEGI – the sister body to the US based Digital Entertainment Group (DEG) – is an international trade body for a connected world and exists to drive global digital growth. Through the expertise and governance structures it provides, it enables local collaboration and networking. And, with a focus on market research and reporting, technological innovation, and consumer behaviours, it informs and drives conversation and opportunities to grow audiences and their engagement with the category.
2022 promises to continue the global renaissance for Home Entertainment, with organisations such as the DEGI and DEG supporting the missions of stakeholders and driving common agendas for category growth. In the UK, over 30.1m million Video on Demand (VOD) rentals were recorded from Jan-Oct 21’, as well as 17.7 million ‘Buy and Keep’ transactions made across the year, despite the clear challenges of the pandemic to theatrical distribution, and the subsequent reduced supply of content to the category. The final week of 2021 saw the biggest value EST (Electronic Sell Through) week in the UK since records began.
Joe Braman, Co-chair of the DEGI said: “The DEGI welcomes these three new members and their engaged membership at such an exciting time for the category. As the surge in new content continues across the next six months, their experience and ambition will be a huge benefit to our collective goals. In addition, increased consumer awareness of multiple formats in a post-lockdown screen landscape makes it more essential than ever that we come together to share our knowledge and expertise in conveying the many benefits of digital ownership and rental to audiences. In return, we offer our DEGI members leading market understanding, reporting and insights across the entire category.”
Speaking about joining the DEGI, Rob Crowe, Sales Manager, On-Line & Digital at BBC Studios said: “With the digital landscape and consumer choice changing faster than ever, it’s never been more important for us to come together as an industry to understand our customers and how best to engage them in digital ownership in the years ahead. I look forward to working with the other members of the DEGI to further our mutual ambitions for the category.”
Laura Broadbent, Project Director, Transactional Digital Acceleration Program at Sony Pictures Entertainment said: “The Digital transactional landscape is evolving faster than ever before and at its heart is an increasing appetite for great Film and TV content from consumers. This presents a phenomenal opportunity for growth across international territories. The DEGI provides us with a strong platform for collaboration through the sharing of research, actionable insight and knowledge which will enable us to help our audiences understand how and where they can rent or buy the wealth of content available to them. We look forward to working with the other DEGI members to improve the consumer experience with the aim of further accelerating the growth of the International transactional digital markets in the coming years.”
Johnnie Thompson, Director, Digital Stores, EMEA & Russia at The Walt Disney Company added: “With almost 18m digital purchases in the UK alone in 2021, the Digital Home Entertainment category continues to thrive. We know that people crave flexibility, and whether it’s a digital rental or purchase, in cinema, or via Disney+, there are more ways than ever for fans to enjoy Disney’s world-class storytelling. So, it’s essential that we come together as an industry to share our knowledge and expertise to drive the digital category forward, and DEGI provides a great platform to do just that.”
