Advanced Television

Analysts: SVoD will upset European TV status quo

September 12, 2017

By Chris Forrester

A major 150-page research report from equity analysts at investment bank Exane/BNP-Paribas does not make good reading for Europe’s traditional FTA broadcasters, both commercial and public and even for established pay-TV operators.

The study says that many broadcasters believe that European TV is different from those in the US, and that there is no way that Netflix and Amazon “can disturb the relative peace”. The report says that these attitudes are wrong: European TV revenues are at risk.

The Exane report says that its Streaming Nation Survey shows that Netflix and Amazon users prefer them over almost any other TV service in Europe, and watch them almost as much as they watch incumbent channels.  The Survey was taken in the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain.

It adds that Netflix has reached a scale and efficiency that will be hard for the traditional broadcasters – or telcos – to replicate. The report’s views for traditional TV is bleak.

Moreover – and perhaps even more worrying – is that Netflix and Amazon are already leading on US TV series, but they are also venturing into movies, non-scripted entertainment and increasingly local drama. “Sports is next,” says Exane.

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