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Digital sales help UK entertainment revenues exceed print for 1st time

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Digital sales help UK entertainment revenues exceed print for 1st time

The growth of digital services from companies like Spotify AB, Netflix Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Deezer S.A., Sky plc, Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc. helped United Kingdom entertainment revenues exceed print sales for the first time in 2017.

The British public spent £7.2 billion worth of entertainment on music, video and games, exceeding total sales from books, magazines and newspapers, which amounted to £7.1 billion, according to a March 1 report published by the Entertainment Retailers Association, or ERA.

ERA CEO Kim Bayley described the milestone as "an extraordinary testament to the appeal and resonance of digital entertainment services … nearly 550 years since the invention of the printing press."

Reaching new highs in 2017, entertainment sales were up 8.8% to £7.24 billion, with digital video revenues up 22.2%, while games revenues grew 9.6%, according to ERA figures.

Approximately 56% of all sales came from access models such as music and video streaming, electronic movie rental, digital payments, subscriptions to online multiplayer games and in-app purchases on mobile devices compared with five years ago more than 80% of revenue came from buy-to-own formats such as discs or downloads.

Spending on print items, however, was down significantly on its 2007 peak of £8.3 billion.

Dr. Themis Kokolakakis, from the Leisure Industries Research Centre, said reading had stagnated due to a number of factors.

"Traditional media is under pressure, partly because of the growth of streaming services, partly because there is so much competition for people's time and attention," he said.