Newsletter 21th of April: Netflix Fell Short of Growth Target Globally – and Nordic Growth Below Total Market
NEWSLETTER
21 April 2021
Yesterday, Netflix reported its’ first quarter figures for 2021. Subscriber growth fell short of the company’s own guidance, partly explained by the pandemic and thus a lighter content slate in H1 2021. Mediavision Nordic figures for the first quarter are confirming the somewhat weaker development. Netflix’s growth was below the general market trend in Q1.
Netflix ended Q1 2021 with 208 million paid memberships globally, representing a growth of +14% YOY. However, this figure falls below the company’s own forecast of 210 million paid memberships at the end of the period. In the EMEA region, Netflix added 1.8 million paid memberships YOY, to a total of 68.5 million paid memberships in Q1 2021.
Mediavision is following all online video services in the Nordics and based on the Q1 analysis, the conclusion is that Netflix’s Nordic growth YOY falls below the general SVOD market growth during the quarter. The subscriber figures for the Nordic¹ market show a YOY growth of 5%, corresponding to approximately 200 000 new subscribing households since Q1 of last year. Hence, Netflix total Nordic subscriber base now amounts to approx. 4,4 million subscribing households. This means that Netflix’s growth underperforms vis-à-vis the overall Nordic SVOD market growth (+8% year-on-year). The Nordic countries are all highly digitalized, partly driven by actors such as Netflix. The SVOD penetration as a Nordic average is approximately 60% in Q1. Mediavision analysis points at new actors taking market shares and that Netflix, albeit still the single largest SVOD service, is not the front runner in terms of growth.
Netflix recognized two reasons believed to have slowed down growth globally. First, the push from the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. Second, the lighter content slate in the first half of 2021 – also a consequence of the pandemic since it caused delays in production. As the roll out of vaccines are now ongoing, Netflix has resumed production in all countries except for Brazil and India. Hence, Netflix announced yesterday that USD 17 billion will be spent on content production in 2021. In 2019, the company spent USD 14 billion, and in 2020 USD 12 billion – so this represents a noteworthy uptick.
¹ Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. Iceland excluded.
Industry News
Apple Launches Podcast Subscriptions
At its ‘Spring Loaded’ event yesterday, Apple presented the AirTag items tracker and new editions of iPhone 12, iPad and Apple TV, in addition to the new feature ‘Podcast Subscriptions’. The feature allows users to support podcasters through the Podcasts app.
New Music Streaming Service Launched in the Nordics
Qobuz, originally from France, is a music streaming service focused on streaming and downloading high-resolution music. The service launches with pricing starting at EUR 19.99.
Facebook Launces Live Audio Rooms
In the coming months, Facebook will roll out a series of new audio features. These include Live Audio Rooms – with striking similarities to Clubhouse, and Soundbites, there users can create and share short audio clips.
Skavlan Steps Down After 12 Years
Fredrik Skavlan will step down as host for Skavlan after this autumn’s season. The production company behind Skavlan, Monkberry, where Skavlan himself is the majority owner, will continue to produce “Carina Bergfeldt” for SVT.
Facebook Expanding Spotify Partnership
On Monday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the company is deepening its relationship with Spotify. Facebook is building an in-line audio player allowing users to listen to songs or playlists being shared on the platforms without being externally linked to Spotify’s app or website.
Apple Music Double Spotify’s Payments
In a letter sent to labels and publishers last Friday, Apple told artists it pays a penny per stream. Payments come out of monthly subscription revenue from users. This is roughly the double of Spotify’s payments per stream.
Discovery+ Launces on Amazon Prime Video Channels
In the US, Discovery is launching its streaming service on Amazon Prime Video Channels. The offer includes an ad-supported version for USD 6.99 per month, with an ad-free tier to launch later.
Online Advertising Revenue +3% in Denmark
Total online advertising revenue increased by 3.33% in Denmark during 2020, according to Danske Medier and Kreativitet & Kommunikation. This represents an increase of 282 million DKK, with the total market amounting to close to 9 billion DKK.
Amazon Launches Kids+ in the UK
Amazon has launched its service Amazon Kids+ in the UK. The service targets children aged 3-12 and provide access to an extensive library of books, movies, TV-shows, educational apps and games.
Mediavision in the News
Netflix-veksten avtar: - Flere som slåss om kundene
De ferske kvartalstallene til strømmetjenesten Netflix viser at selskapet kun fikk fire millioner nye abonnenter i første kvartal. Strømme-tjenesten Netflix fikk fire millioner nye abonnenter i første kvartal.
Netflix växer blygsamt i Norden – konkurrensen oroar inför rapport
Streamingtjänsterna såg sin guldålder under 2020 men nu hopas orosmolnen över bolagen. Marknadsledaren Netflix väntas bjuda på en ljummen rapport för det första kvartalet.
Sweden: Families prefer Disney+ over Netflix
The launch of Disney+ in 2020 fundamentally changed the competitive landscape for streaming in Sweden in many ways – but perhaps most notably in the battle over families with young children.
Netflix likely to report 5% Q1 Nordic subscriber growth vs 8% market growth rate
Swedish consultancy Mediavision says it predicts that Netflix will report a 5 percent increase in Nordic customers for the first quarter of 2021, or a rise of 200,000 subscribing households since Q1 2020.
Så mycket mer pengar lägger hushåll med barn på streamingtjänster
Barnhushåll konsumerar i högre grad streamingtjänster än hushåll utan barn, visar Mediavisions analys för streamingmarknaden under första kvartalet.
”Om ett år finns vi i större delen av Europa”
På Sesamy är man nöjda med lanseringen. Nu är målet att skala upp.
– Förlagen gillar oss, och att någon tänker och gör annorlunda, säger Måns Ulvestam, en av sajtens grundare.
Nordic families preferring Disney+ over Netflix
New analysis by Stockholm-based consultancy Mediavision has found Disney+ already has a “very strong” position among families with children.