Our latest Entertainment on Demand data on the German streaming market. This latest report reveals that between July to September 2022, the number of Video on Demand (VoD)-enabled households that subscribed to at least one video streaming service in Germany fell slightly to 21.9 million, down by 52k, quarter on quarter, representing 53% of households. Streaming subscription cuts in the German market come after experiencing growth in the previous quarter, Q3’22, with the SVoD market falling for the first time in 12 months.
Kantar’s data reveals that Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power on Prime Video was the most-enjoyed title in Q3, followed by Stranger Things on Netflix and House of the Dragon on WOW.
Kantar’s Entertainment on Demand study in Germany uncovered the following behaviours within the VoD market over the three months to September 2022:
- 19% of SVoD subscriptions taken out in the quarter were by households who cancelled an existing service to take out a new one
- The average VoD enabled household has 2,9 subscriptions
- Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power on Prime Video was the most enjoyed title in Q3, followed by Stranger Things on Netflix and House of the Dragon on WOW
- Disney+ was the fastest-growing major service over the Q3’22 period
After seeing strong growth in the previous quarter, Q3’22 saw the German SVoD market experience a small decline, with 52k fewer households holding at least one video streaming service subscription. Switching remained an important dynamic in the German market, with 1 in 5 new video streaming subscriptions resulting in the cancellation of another service to make way. The scale of this switching dynamic does vary notably by the service take-out – 30% of new AppleTV+ subscribers cancelled a service to make way, compared to just 15% for Netflix. This distinct difference relates to the number of services being subscribed to in the household: AppleTV+ subscribers have an average of 4.4 VoD services in the household, compared to 2.4 for Netflix. Once German households reach a certain level of streaming spend, there is seemingly little appetite to pay for new services on top – it becomes a ‘one in, one out’ scenario.
The Rings of Power Reigns
Q3 saw the release of two highly-anticipated big-budget series – The Game of Thrones prequel, House of the Dragon (HotD), on WOW, and Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (tRoP), on Prime Video. Both titles were hits with German households, but it was tRoP that topped the list of most-enjoyed titles over the quarter, with HotD the #3 most-enjoyed title. Stranger Things showed its longevity and the success of Netflix’s strategy to release the fourth series in two separate instalments and held #2 place in the enjoyment rankings.
Prime Video led in terms of new subscriber acquisition over the quarter, commanding 36% in the third quarter, with The Rings of Power directly leading to almost 1 in 10 new subscribers.
WOW (formerly Sky Ticket) hit double figures in terms of share of new subscriptions won over the quarter at 12%, with House of the Dragon directly responsible for an astounding 58% of new subscribers.
Disney+ gathers strength
Disney+ hit a 12-month high in terms of share of new subscriptions in the quarter, hitting 20%. Disney+ is not just wining significant numbers of new subscribers, it is also significantly reducing its churn rate, which is now at parity with Netflix. These two factors combined meant Disney+ was the fastest growing major service over Q3’22, gaining over 250k net subscribers. Obi Wan Kenobi, She Hulk and The Walking Dead were all top performers for Disney+ over the quarter.
Football in focus
Whilst it is often high-budget TV series and films that garner the SVOD headlines, football continues to play a key role in subscriber acquisition. In fact, football was the #1 driver of new customer acquisition for Prime Video over the quarter. Despite the number of sports offered by DAZN, football was the key motivator for almost 70% of new subscribers in the quarter.
Winning in the sports sphere long-term in VoD is not as simple as buying up content rights. Investment in the delivery platform, securing the best commentators and creating interactive features are key to winning committed sports streamers. Whilst DAZN wins out in consumer feedback in terms of the variety of sports on offer and the variety of leagues/levels, Prime Video’s investment in sport becomes crystal clear when it comes to the experience, winning out over DAZN on all areas of the sports streaming experience.
Use Kantar’s data visualisation tool to explore current and historical SVoD (Subscription Video on Demand) market data for your region. Access our interactive data visualisation for more information.
About Entertainment on Demand:
Kantar Entertainment On-Demand is delivered by the same team that provides the world’s leading mobile phone manufacturers with global mobile phone purchasing and usage trends. Kantar is the industry standard for TV viewing habits in more than 60 countries around the world, as well as being the leading global source of ad spend. This new service expands our expertise into the subscription market and will help, major players, market entrants and investors understand the ‘why’ behind the ‘buy’ decision subscribers are making.
Entertainment On-Demand is the only subscription service providing both quarterly installed base and new subscription market share alongside deep analysis on purchase motivations, including named content, customer experience, and diagnostics on ‘at-risk subscribers’ as well as guidance on acquisition and retention strategies.
