Horse & Country sees dramatic increase in streaming service viewing in 2019

Growth mirrors national trends described by Ofcom

Horse & Country, the leading international equestrian sports network, has reported a sharp rise in viewing on its streaming services, as viewers embraced the increased live sports and video-on-demand offerings in the second quarter of 2019.

Engagement across all H&C TV platforms (connected TVs, mobile, web) saw huge annual growth in Q2 2019 vs Q2 2018, with subscriber numbers increasing 32% year on year, and second quarter revenues up 66% from the same period in 2018.

The results are in line with the findings of the latest Media Nations report published last week by Ofcom.  The report found that the number of streaming subscriptions in the UK rose to 19.1 million from 15.6 million in 2018.

Forty-seven percent of UK households now subscribe to a streaming service, with many paying for more than one.

Traditional TV viewing, including catch-up, remains the most popular way to watch video overall, with the average UK household watching three hours and 12 minutes of TV per day.  However, broadcast viewing among 16 to 34 year-olds now represents less than half their total video consumption.

H&C’s increased digital viewing across all web and streaming devices was led by live sports offerings including unprecedented coverage of the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event, and the Longines Luhmühlen Horse Trials, along with shows such as the popular reality series, Return to Talland.

H&C CEO, Heather Killen, said:

With our digital subscribers watching almost 1.5 million minutes of programming last quarter in the UK alone, it’s clear that the expanded content offering and the user experience advantages on our streaming services are winning over subscribers from cable and satellite. This is great news for H&C and for equestrian sports as a whole.”