More Swedes use social media than ever before; four out of five Swedes used social media an average day during Q4 2018. While usage has increased compared to 2017, video consumption through social media has remained stable among users. With unparalleled reach and increasing efforts, social media video consumption might see an upswing in 2019.

During the fourth quarter of 2018 four out of five Swedes (79%) used social media an average day, up 8 percent compared to the same period 2017. While the overall number of users increased, the share of social media video consumers has remained stable. In August, Facebook started rolling out its video focused service/function Facebook Watch globally, which reached the Nordics in September. With Facebook’s more than 2 billion monthly active users worldwide, a video service embedded in Facebook surely has great potential. However, the service has yet to hit its stride in Sweden. Mediavision has found that during Q4 2018, barely a fifth (16%) of consumers who watched video content on Facebook an average day did so using the Watch functionality/service.

As Mediavision mentioned in a previous newsletter, Nordic consumers are without question hungry for ad-based video on-demand (AVOD). The average AVOD viewing time has grown significantly in the Nordics since 2016, and Youtube attains a viewing share of close to 60%.

While social media services still have some catching up to do in order to challenge the likes of pure video focused services (eg Youtube), the potential is there. For example, Facebook has made a push toward the e-sport and gaming segment – a field in which eg Amazon-owned Twitch operates. Facebook started to actively promote its new gaming-destination, aptly named Facebook Gaming, in June. Furthermore, Facebook launched several Twitch-like features on Facebook Gaming.

Also, Facebook-owned Instagram, which launched its own mobile-first video app IGTV last summer, announced last week that it is adding previews of IGTV content in its’ users main Instagram feeds. And, Facebook continues to rack up original content for its Watch service with the announcement of a docu-series about basketball player Stephen Curry.

As Facebook and Instagram are the two most popular social media services in Sweden, IGTV and Facebook Watch may become serious competitors in the video segment in a near future.

Mediavision blogs:

The Swedish gambling market: The upcoming re-regulation, part 2
Today we are delving into consumer preferences vis-à-vis different types of gambling. If we start by looking at monthly reach per gambling type, lotteries and scratch cards currently dominate in KPI “monthly reach”. But, since lotteries as well as […].

Mediavision press releases:

Household media spend on the rise
Swedish households continuously spend more money on media services. During 2018 an average Swedish household spent 450 SEK per month on media subscriptions. The appetite for video services remain high, video spend has increased by […].

Industry news:

Facebook is courting creators
Facebook is stepping up its efforts to lure creators to its Watch platform. Facebook is rolling out a large presence at VidCon London this week. Headlining Facebook’s activities is Jay Shetty, a motivational speaker with over 20 million Facebook followers.

Apple announces press event on March 25th
Apple will be holding its first press event of the year on March 25^th. The event is said to be centered around services. The event may include the announcement of a news subscription plan.

Gambling ads banned from child-friendly sites
Gambling ads will no longer be allowed to appear on sites or in games that are popular with children. The change will take effect in April. Furthermore, bookmakers are required to use every possible tool to hinder gambling ads from being seen by under-18s.

Spotify bets on locally produced podcasts
Spotify recently announced the acquisition of podcast companies Gimlet and Anchor. Spotify is also expanding its presence with locally produced podcasts called Spotify Originals. Its latest Spotify Original is called “Gynning & Berg”.

THQ Nordic beats Q4 expectations
Swedish games developer and publisher THQ Nordic beat analysts’ expectations and announced the acquisition of Prague-based games developer Warhorse Studios. THQ acquired Warhorse Studios for 33,2 million EUR.

Mediavision in the news:

Allt mer pengar läggs på strömmade tjänster
Svenskarna lägger allt mer pengar på medietjänster som strömmad film och musik. I snitt spenderade hushållen 450 kronor i månaden förra året. Störst är suget efter rörlig bild där ökningen var nästan 20 procent på ett år, enligt analysföretaget Mediavision.

Hushållens medieutgifter ökar kraftigt
Svenskarna börjar spendera alltmer på digitala medieabonnemang. Störst är inte oväntat aptiten för rörlig bild där man under 2018 ökade sina utgifter med 20 procent i jämförelse med 2017. Tittar man specifikt på streamingtjänster ökade […].

Mediavision: Swedish household media spend on the rise
Swedish households continues to spend more money on media services. During 2018 an average Swedish household spent 450 SEK per month on media subscriptions. The appetite […].

Streaming overhaler TV i Sverige
En af de måder man rent faktisk kan måle streaming i forhold til TV på, er på de udgifter befolkningen har til den ene eller den anden “platform”. Og nu hvor en del tyder på at […].

Industry events

• MIPTV: April, 8-11, Cannes, France

*Events where Mediavision will be presenting