Efforts to reduce the amount of sharing of SVOD subscriptions in the Nordics are only having a minimal effect in the Nordics.
Estimates by the Stockholm-based consultancy Mediavision put the number of shared SVOD subscriptions at 3 million, a reduction of just 250,000 over the last 12 months. The figure is despite efforts by the likes of Netflix and Disney to reduce numbers.
“We can expect further efforts from the industry to fight password sharing,” says Fredrik Liljeqvist, senior analyst at Mediavision. “Stricter regulations will likely help drive growth of paid streaming, although the increase is unlikely to reach 3 million new full subscribers. The outcome is uncertain, as also lower priced packages with advertising will come into play. We can see that these mixed packages of both pay and advertising are starting to find a wider audience here in the Nordics. For many households, this can be a way to switch from borrowing to becoming a paying subscriber, but it can also mean that today’s full subscribers will opt for cheaper a cheaper package.
Nordic streaming platform Viaplay announced last week that it would also be putting pressure on those who are sharing their subscriptions.
Mediavision says that companies that have already implemented stricter rules on password sharing have seen a 10% decrease in shared subscriptions since spring 2023.
If all subscriptions that are currently shared in the Nordics were converted into paying subs it would be equivalent to a cash injection of between €200 and 300 million.
