UK SVoD subscribers are watching SVoD less frequently
Engagement in SVoD appears to be dropping in the UK as nearly
a third of SVoD subscribers indicate that they have not watched SVoD in the past
month. Of UK Internet households surveyed in Q3 2018, 67% subscribe to an SVoD service, of which only 68% said that they used an
SVoD service in the past month. This has decreased from 76% back in Q3
2017.
The decline is apparent across all the major UK SVoD services. Overall, 35% of Netflix subscribers indicate they have not watched
Netflix in the past month—this has increased from 29% in Q3 2017. The
engagement of Now TV subscribers and Amazon Video subscribers is much lower—over half of both Now TV subscribers and Amazon Video subscribers have not used
their respective services in the past month. Consumption of video on both
Amazon Prime and Now TV by its subscribers has reduced by 15 percentage points
since Q3 2017.
One reason for the decline in engagement among SVoD
subscribers is an increase in competition. More than half of UK SVoD households
now have more than one OTT subscription. Viewing of online video may be higher
in these households, but consumers do not spend as much time with any
individual service as those consumers with access to just one video provider.
Additionally, as the SVoD market has matured, lower engagement users have begun
to enter the market. These consumers are typically less tech-savvy and
content-hungry than early adopters, and use SVoD less frequently. The growth of
this segment of the market has also contributed to lower overall engagement
levels among SVoD homes.
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