James R | On 02, May 2016

Most Amazon Prime Video customers also sign up to Netflix, reveals new research.

A survey for 2,000 people in each of the UK and USA (plus 1,500 in a host of countries, including Spain, Germany and France) found that 82 per cent of US Amazon Prime Video users also use Netflix. In the UK, the trend is just as prominent, with 69 per cent of Amazon Prime Video customers also signing up to Netflix.

The study, conducted twice yearly by Futuresource Consulting, highlights just how popular subscription VOD services have become, as uptake continues to rise across all countries. Uptake of Netflix in France and Germany, in particular, has increased “significantly” since the previous wave of research, although there is evidence that churn is high in France compared to the other surveyed countries.

The relationship between SVoD and Pay-TV is relatively complementary in most countries, as Pay-TV households are more likely to take SVoD services than free-to-air only households, finds the report – backing up previous research by TV ratings firm Barb.

As SVoD becomes more established, though, Futuresource suggests this is less apparent, with evidence in the USA indicating that SVOD services are perhaps starting to cannibalise Pay-TV. In France and Germany, however, Pay-TV penetration is more than twice as high amongst Netflix households than non-Netflix households.

The shift from physical media to digital video purchasing remains “relatively steady”, adds the report, although it’s a much slower shift, with consumers preferring to buy rather than rent online.

“Despite a decline in DVD and Blu-ray purchasing, the number of consumers buying transactional digital video appears to be slowing, largely driven by a decline in digital renters. However, those purchasing Electronic Sell-Through (EST) movies and TV shows are marginally increasing,” comments David Sidebottom, Principal Analyst at Futuresource Consulting.

Increased living room connectivity continues to help drive this overall video viewing. Connected/Smart TV connectivity rates have improved, with 85 per cent of US & UK smart TV owners now connecting their sets. Across all countries, 71 per cent of connected sets are being used once a week or more. Video continues to drive overall usage, although free viewing has fallen back as paid-for video, particularly SVOD, increases in importance.

Connected TV connectivity rates have grown despite the proliferation of streaming media devices, with growth particularly notable in Europe; in Germany, 16 per cent of respondents now have a streaming box or stick, while 27 per cent of consumers across all countries now own more than one. Regular usage is marginally higher than for connected TVs with 84 per cent of owners using them at least once a week.

Overall, though, live TV remains the most frequently used platform for accessing TV/video across all countries. After this, the second and third most frequently watched format remains diverse by country: the number two platform in France is catch-up TV, DVD/Blu-ray in Germany, digitally recorded time-shift in the UK and SVOD in the USA.

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