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Vuulr generated sales of over 9,000 hours of film and TV content in 2021, up 205% YOY

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Vuulr, the leading, global online content marketplace for film and T.V. rights that connects buyers and distributors worldwide, announced it generated the sale of over 9,000 total hours of content in 2021 as the platform saw rapid adoption across the entertainment industry. 

Studios, Production Houses & Distributors have embraced Vuulr’s content marketplace, growing the total hours listed 150% to 181,760 hours. 

“Content creators and distributors now recognize that online content marketplaces are a valuable additional tool in the distribution and acquisition process,” Vuulr CEO Ian McKee said. “Sellers are seeing new incremental revenue and better global reach, and Buyers are finding the process of discovery and acquisition of both local and international content faster and more convenient. We’ve made licensing content across the globe more convenient and accessible than ever before, and this is just the beginning.”

While the United States continues to lead the way in buying activity, 2021 saw strong growth by Buyers internationally. In 2020, more than half of all content licensed on Vuulr was from buyers in the U.S. 2021 saw a strong increase in buying activity from Buyers from India increasing to become, 22% of the total, Singapore (as an Asia Pacific Hub) at 10%, United Kingdom at 7% and even Mongolia now representing 5% of the total licensing content. 

“Whilst the single largest trading block continues to be U.S. Buyers acquiring content from U.S. Sellers via Vuulr,” McKee added. “We are enabling an incredibly global trade, in 2021 Buyers from 53 countries closed deals on Vuulr, acquiring content in 72 different languages and licensing from 54 countries ranging from Argentina to Vietnam.”  

Here are some of the most noteworthy trends based on Vuulr’s proprietary 2021 data:

  • Buyers from the USA licensed 3,500 hours, growing 116% year-on-year.
  • The largest increases in content licensing came from Buyers in India (+987%), U.K. (+266%) and Canada (176%). 
  • Buyers from the U.K., Australia, Spain and Canada have upped their use of the platform in 2021 and licensed 1,350 hours of content.
  • In 2021, new entrants including Singapore (Asia’s regional hub), Mongolia, Nigeria, Malaysia, Cyprus, Germany and Rwanda burst on the scene licensing 2,030 hours of content collectively.

Whilst the Vuulr marketplace features content in 60 different genres. Drama remained the top-selling genre making up 16% of all licensed content, followed by Documentary (11%), Comedy (8%), Thriller/Suspense (6%), Romance (6%) and Horror (5%) emphasizing the diversity of content that does well on Vuulr

The Genres that experienced the biggest growth in demand year-over-year were Documentary (+402%), Biography (+350%), Romance (+245%), Crime (+227%) and Horror (+175%) There are now over 14,000 Buyers and Sellers using Vuulr. 

Buyers and Sellers on Vuulr include Kanal D International, CNN International, Globo, Caracol Television, Dori Media, Viacom18, MacGillivray Freeman Films, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Turner International Asia Pacific, BBC, Super RTL, MX Player, UKTV and SBS.

More than 35,000 unique films and T.V. titles are currently listed in the marketplace, totaling over 181,760 hours of content. Vuulr offers Buyers and Sellers a seamless way to transact content deals from anywhere in the world, 24/7, faster and at lower cost than ever before. 

“The entertainment industry continued its digital transformation in 2021 as the industry went global to satisfy the demand by audiences for more and more international content,” McKee explained. “This is in line with a recent McKinsey study that revealed that B2B buying has gone online with Buyers enjoying the speed and flexibility it provides. For example, deals on Vuulr close in, on average 12 days, which is significantly faster than the traditional norm. This enables teams on both the Buy side and the Sell side to manage much higher deal volumes and cover more territories.”