How well is Netflix doing in Central and Eastern Europe?
It’s now three months since the SVOD service made its long-awaited debut in the region. While there are no detailed reports about its performance to date– certainly none that I have seen – general ones all seem to refer to it offering insufficient, or indeed no, localised content.
There is also a general assumption that until this is rectified Netflix is unlikely to become an important player in any CEE TV market.
Take the case of Hungary, where earlier this week BBJ reported on the findings of research undertaken by eNet. This identified the lack of dubbed or subtitled programming as a major factor holding back the take-up of Netflix in the country. It also said that Hungarians, who are avid TV series and movie viewers, would also like to see Netflix lower its subscription fee and offer a wider variety of programming.
Significantly, the study in addition revealed, perhaps because of these factors, that relatively few Hungarians are even taking up the free one-month trial offer for the service.
Meanwhile in Russia, which already has arguably the most competitive on demand market in the region, Netflix is seen as another, albeit at this stage insignificant player. However, there is a belief that this could all change as soon as its starts to offer local content.
In Poland, which also has a highly competitive market, Netflix appears to be making progress, albeit slowly. In a interview with the local media last month, Joris Evers, its VP, head of communications for Europe, Middle East and Africa, revealed that over 50% of the viewers who had opted for the one-month trial had then decided to continue and pay for the service.
He also said that Netflix would aim to increase the level of programming offered with Polish subtitles or voiceover from just over 10%. Furthermore, it could show Polish titles and was open to working with the Polish industry on joint titles.
One encouraging piece of news that emerged from Poland in late March was that Netflix is now, after YouTube and player.pl, the third most popular Samsung Smart TV app in the country.
These are still early days for Netflix in CEE and we will only have a true picture of how it is doing later this year.
While there are certainly some positive signs, insufficient localised content seems to be a major obstacle and one it will have to address.
