Streaming provider Netflix could overtake pay-TV broadcaster Sky Deutschland in terms of subscriber numbers in Germany by the end of the year.
The forecast, unveiled by German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, is based on calculations by Mark Bradford, head and founder of streaming service Cirkus, and UK market research company Ampere Analysis.
Netflix currently has around four million subscribers in Germany, according to the report. The US company does not publish official figures for individual countries.
Netflix is making particularly strong customer gains in Germany, estimated at more than 20% this year, Bradford said. “By the end of the year, Netflix is expected to have more than five million customers, thereby overtaking Sky in subscriber numbers,” he predicts.
Sky Deutschland currently has 5.2 million subscribers, around 10% of which are believed to be based in Austria.
Amazon Prime is the market leader in streaming video in Germany with around eight to nine million customers, according to the calculations, but not all customers probably use the streaming service it contains.
