Streaming services enjoy a similar level of popularity in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
According to the atmedia index survey carried out in the second half of last year, while in the Czech Republic a total of 40% of people aged 15-69 used at least one paid VOD service at least several times a month, in Slovakia it was slightly less at 38%. In addition, Czech and Slovak users paid for several VOD services at the same time. In the monitored period, there were on average two services per Czech and Slovak user.
However, according to Pavel Müller, head of research and marketing at Atmedia, “ not everyone pays for all the services they use. Some users have access to some streaming services through accounts shared with their acquaintances and friends. It is therefore not true that all 2.6 million Czechs and 1.3 million Slovaks belong to paying users”.
Netflix is one of the most used paid VOD services in the Czech and Slovak markets, with a large lead. In the Czech Republic, over two-thirds of all users of paid VOD services watched this streaming service in the second half of last year, in Slovakia it was less than two-thirds. Also, the second and third places in the ranking of the most used paid VOD services were occupied by the same players in both markets – namely HBO Max and Voyo. The fourth place belonged to Disney+, which entered the Czech and Slovak markets in June 2022.
Müller added it will be interesting to see if the ranking of the most used paid VOD services will change in any way with regard to new streaming services entering the Czech and Slovak markets. In the Czech Republic, for example, the TV group Prima launched its VOD service in February this year, and the new streaming service Canal+, which started in April this year, also wants to compete for the attention of viewers.
“The Czech and Slovak market for paid VOD services is nowhere near as saturated as some foreign markets in Western or Northern Europe, where many more viewers subscribe to streaming services. This is also why new players are entering the Czech and Slovak markets”.
It is more difficult for individual players in saturated markets, which is why they choose a new strategy where they offer viewers multiple types of subscriptions, for example a full subscription without advertising and a cheaper subscription with advertising.
Similarity can also be seen in the Czech and Slovak markets in the amount that viewers pay for paid VOD services. In the case of users who pay for streaming services directly to the service provider, in the H2 2020 in the Czech Republic it was on average CZK297 per month, in Slovakia €12 – equivalent to CZK295.
The most expensive service in both markets is Netflix by a wide margin, while the amounts for other paid VOD services such as HBO Max, Voyo or Disney+ are lower and do not differ much from each other.
