Online video breaks new records in Sweden during the first quarter of 2018. Both viewership and subscriptions soar higher than ever before. Also, for the first time we see local actors gaining on the American giants Youtube and Netflix.

Today, Mediavision publishes its quarterly analysis of the digital Swedish TV market. The main findings are clear: Consumption of digital TV services, known as OTT services, continues to grow at a rapid rate. In the 15-74 age bracket, half of the population consumes online video (48 percent daily reach), breaking previous records with a growth of ten percent compared to Q1 2017. In the 15-54 age bracket daily reach is even higher, reaching 60 percent.

Yet another record was broken during the quarter for paid streaming services (SVOD), i.e. Netflix, Viaplay among others. These services are now present in nearly half of all households (48 percent have at least one paid subscription); an increase of 19 percent compared to Q1 2017.

Behind this rapid growth, is possibly a slowly changing landscape, as local actors increase their market share, both in terms of viewership and subscriptions. Still, Youtube and Netflix dominate their respective markets (ad and pay), but local actors have now strengthened their positions in comparison to the American giants for the first time.

In terms of viewership, Discovery grows the most. This is in part explained by the Olympics in Pyeongchang during Q1. Combined, the viewership for Dplay and Eurosport Player more than doubled compared to last year. Also, online video consumption on C More increased significantly during the first quarter.

Viaplay shows strong growth in terms of subscriptions, mainly driven by an increase in subscribers for its film and series package deals. However, Dplay Premium and C More also grow substantially, which explains the rise in viewership. Consequently, Netflix market share shrunk, from 53 to 45 percent, even though Netflix continues to grow in absolute numbers.

– OTT grows rapidly on all fronts, both on the market and consumer side. All the main actors on the Swedish market continues to grow, but at the moment the local actors seem to be on the rise. Several of the local players have invested heavily in their services, especially in content, which now seems to pay off as shown by the rise in viewership and increased number of subscribers, says Arvid Åsbrink, senior consultant at Mediavision.