Drama leads content demand as Vuulr reveals explosive growth in 2020 deal data

(11th December 2020) Vuulr, the world’s largest global online content marketplace for premium film and TV rights, today reveals a raft of new platform data including sales statistics, buyer adoption and location figures, providing a unique snapshot into global content demand in 2020.

The data*, sourced from over 8,000 deal negotiations for thousands of premium TV series and films in 2020, reveals that drama content was the most in demand genre of overall deal negotiations on Vuulr (14%), but a surprisingly broad range of genres was also represented with Comedy (8%), Documentary (7%), Action (6%) and Family (5%). Over twenty other genres made up the remaining 60% of transactions in 2020. 

In terms of transactions, over 1,269 licensing deals were struck as the number of buyers on Vuulr has accelerated from 1,142 in January 2020 to 4,603 in mid-December 2020, signifying a 300% increase in buyers in just under a year. 

Geographically, some interesting trends emerge. US buyers have proven to be the industry leaders in early adoption of Content Marketplaces, making up 31% of all the Buyers registered but representing 47% of all the deals done on the marketplaces.  Whilst buyers from the UK represent 9% of registered buyers but only 3% of the transactions.

Also reflecting the content industry’s adoption of online marketplaces as an alternative for the myriad cancelled physical sales events in 2020, the number of content hours listed by sellers on Vuulr more than quadrupled, to 130,000 hours as Sellers looked for new customers and new territories to monetize their catalogue.

Overall users of the Vuulr content marketplace jumped from 3,143 in February to 8,194, signifying a growth of 160%.

The Vuulr marketplace now features more than 130,000 hours of ready to air content, making it the world’s largest online marketplace featuring premium film and TV content from producers and distributors including Sony, Legendary Television, Televisa, Viacom 18, Warner Media, Caracol and thousands more including both indies and larger studios.

Reflecting on the data, Ian McKee, CEO of Vuulr, said: “It’s amazing to think that we could fill the main Theatre at the Palais de Congress TWICE with the buyers now registered on the Vuulr marketplace. Content buyers and sellers, from mainstream and niche players, are demonstrating that the global demand for drama content remains undimmed, but the sheer variety of genres in demand suggests that buyers from around the world have been turning to digital providers to fulfil their channel needs during the pandemic.

Many content buyers have tried Vuulr for the first time this year, as our catalogue has expanded. We expect this to continue as we move towards a hybrid digital/ physical way of doing business. It’s certainly been a year of significant change and we expect to see more in 2021”.

*Source – all data sourced from Vuulr.com from 1 January to 30 November 2020.