Netflix is the biggest winner on the Nordic video market, according to the findings of a study by Mediavision.
There are currently around 7.7 million 15-74 year olds in the region who watch online video on an average day, or almost 15% more than a year ago. On the other hand, traditional TV viewing has decreased by approximately 7% in the same period.
Most of the growth of online viewing profits global actors, as locals continue to fall behind. Indeed, across the Nordics Netflix and YouTube attain more than 50% of all online viewing. Global services also lead SVOD, with Netflix, HBO Nordic and Amazon together accounting for more than four million subscribing households. Local Nordic media actors, on the other hand, only attain half of that amount. The gap between the globals and the locals has actually been increasing yearly since 2013. As we move forward in 2018, Mediavision sees no clear signs that this will change.
Netflix’s content budget for 2017 of almost €6 billion was approximately twice the size of all Nordic broadcast companies combined. The advantages of economies of scale make the globals’ position hard to challenge and his situation is likely to remain unchanged in the coming years.
According to Marie Nilsson, CEO at Mediavision, “2017 has been an eventful year in the media industry, and the Nordics is not an exception. The shift in consumption from traditional to digital media has continued, with investments and revenues following. Towards 2018, the consumer development will likely be accompanied by an even more fierce competition, leading to both vertical and horizontal consolidations – locally and globally. The AT&T/Time Warner and Fox/Disney deals, together with Facebook Watch’s potential global release are some factors that will have great impact on the video market as a whole – and almost certainly throughout the Nordics”.