Sweden: Interest growing in ad-supported streaming
February 19, 2024
Cheaper, ad-supported streaming options have launched with success in many markets. For example, in the US, Netflix has reported that the company’s ad-supported tier now has 23 million active users per month. But this is still a relatively new phenomenon in Sweden, reports Mediaivison.
Currently, just 200,000 – around 7 per cent – of streaming households, have opted for a cheaper ad-supported alternative. This can be compared to 3 million households that have a fully paid streaming service without ads.
In autumn 2023, ad-supported options were launched by Disney+ and TV4 Play in Sweden. Discovery+ also offers such subscription. So the options are there.Mediavision surveyed consumers about their interest in these subscriptions. If the five largest streaming services in Sweden were to launch cheaper subscriptions with ads, they could add up to 1.8 million new subscriptions. This would mean significant growth, but also that the companies’ revenues would include advertising.Most signs point to an increased offering of ad-supported streaming services. SkyShowtime has communicated that an ad-supported subscription will be launched in April in Sweden (and other markets). Warner Bros Discovery has also announced that its streaming service Max will have such an option when it launches in Sweden this spring. Meanwhile, both Prime Video and Netflix offer cheaper ad-supported options on several markets, but nothing has yet been revealed about a potential launch in the Nordics.“As the pure pay-streaming market matures, new initiatives for growth are needed,” commented Fredrik Liljeqvist, senior analyst at Mediavision. “Advertising enables less expensive services for consumers but also new revenue streams for streaming services. This means households may consider acquiring more subscriptions, while advertisers in Sweden can reach many viewers with ads.”