SVOD services are now used by 40% of Czechs aged 15-69.
Furthermore, according to an Atmedia index survey, this is expected to rise to 42% next year, with 4% of Czechs saying they plan to start using them within the next 12 months. Yet while viewers opt for 1.5 SVOD services, not everyone pays for them due to account sharing with family members and acquaintances. Some also only occasionally buy, for instance, one or two movies.
According to Pavel Müller, head of research and marketing at Atmedia, “VOD services have been gaining more and more popularity among Czech viewers in recent years. The global pandemic contributed significantly to this, when we were all locked at home and watching TV or videos on demand was one of the most common activities we spent our free time with”.
He added: “We conducted the research in March and May of this year, so the question is how a high rate of inflation and associated lower purchasing power will ultimately affect the willingness to pay for video-on-demand services. The figures for the third quarter will probably show us this already”.
Out of the total number of user accesses to paid VOD services, 52% of them are paid through so-called direct membership – i.e. users pay for these services directly to the service provider, for example by payment card or standing order. Another 12% is paid through pay-TV operators who offer VOD services alongside TV channels.
Müller continued: “Shared accounts are a big problem in general, which Netflix is already starting to solve as its competition grows and it hits the ceiling with the increase in subscribers. In addition to more than 200 million paying households, Netflix has access to another 100 million households that do not pay to watch their video content”.
