Swedish consumers’ interest in video has never been greater. Increased viewing via streaming services more than compensates for the decreased viewing of traditional TV. But what was once a local market has become a venue for international competition. With increasing foreign competition, Swedish players are suffering the consequences.

Online video consumption in Sweden has grown tremendously in recent years. New services and a growing number of smart, connected devices; such as smart phones and tablets, are driving the trend. Online video viewing is increasing in all age groups, especially among young people. Meanwhile, linear TV viewing continues to drop; down four percent year-to-date.

Among streaming services, Youtube has the biggest consumer reach by far, with 1.3 million daily Swedish viewers in the third quarter. Also as a proportion of total consumed online video minutes, Youtube impresses with 25 percent of all online video viewing. It is at par with what the local TV companies SVT, TV4, MTG and SBS Discovery achieve online all together.

– Youtube has been number one a long time already, and continues to grow rapidly in all age groups. In terms of reach, no other online service is close. The Swedish players are in addition battling for viewers with other International players, such as Netflix and HBO Nordic. Even though the Swedish players are increasing their online viewing, they have lost viewers in total during the last year. Competition is simply much tougher now, says Marie Nilsson, CEO Mediavision.

Among the local TV companies, it is public service; SVT, that is the most successful actor online, with a 13 precent share of the online viewing. This should be compared with SVT’s share of viewing on traditional TV, where the company’s channels account for more than 30 percent of all national viewing.

All figures regarding online viewing are based on the Mediavision consumer tracking. Mediavision continuously monitors the development of the Swedish TV and streaming market.