In the modern era, where the digital and the physical are intertwined, let's examine some of the forms of entertainment most appreciated by Italian consumers and why. Italy has long been an avid consumer of television, with data from 2015/16 suggesting that Italians watch more than 4 hours of extra TV per day than the inhabitants of any other Western European country. With more and more content moving online, it is therefore not surprising that, between June and August 2023, on average 27,4 million Italians used video streaming platforms on demand (VoD). Over the course of an average month, these viewers accumulated 283 million views, for a total of 258 million hours. This equates to approx 9 hours per user per month! Of these hours, the 67% was dedicated to watching TV series and 33% per film, demonstrating the dominance of TV streaming in Italian entertainment.
The popularity of Netflix and other streaming platforms
Looking at TV streaming platforms, Netflix had an average of 15,7 million viewers in the three months examined, making it the most popular streaming service. Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ follow, with 12,2 million and 5,9 million users respectively. Some of the most popular shows include The Lions of Sicily, Django, Medici, The Swarm and Domina, showing a trend towards historical dramas and thrillers, especially when they concern Italy itself.
Other popular forms of entertainment
We therefore know that the TV streaming, particularly on Netflix, dominates Italian entertainment consumption. But what are other popular forms of entertainment? THE online casino have seen growing popularity around the world, with statistics predicting growth of 7,97% in the coming years. One of the most popular segments allows players to try their hand at live online casino, with games like blackjack, roulette, baccarat and poker ready to be played live. These games exploit live streaming technologies to be hosted in real time, by a real croupier or dealer, and real opponents, providing an authentic gaming experience and the ability to interact with the host and other players.
Persistence of the printed media
Although it is live TV streaming whether live online casino games indicate a digital transformation in entertainment, i printed media they cannot be overlooked. In fact, studies have shown that Italians are more likely to read a printed magazine than in several other countries in the world, with 57% of Italian respondents declaring they read a printed magazine every week. According to Statista, in just one quarter of 2022, more than 9,4 million Italians read weekly magazines, and more than 20,5 million Italians read a newspaper at least once a week – 5 million of these read a newspaper five times a week or more.
As you can see, despite the prevalence of television streaming in the lead, Italy still consumes one variety of digital and print media consistently. With that in mind, who knows what the future holds for Italian entertainment – we'll just have to wait and see.
