Nordics Provide “Ample Growth Opportunity” for International Streamers

International streaming platforms such as BritBox, Paramount+ and HBO Max should find expansion opportunities in the Nordic markets, according to Ampere Analysis, even though Scandinavian households already have an average of 2.4 SVOD services.

There is still room for more players to arrive in the market, Ampere says, noting Disney+’s recent successful launch in the region.

The territory’s SVOD landscape is fairly evenly split between local and international operators. Viaplay is the region’s largest local streamer in terms of subscriptions, while Netflix had a 32 percent share of the OTT market as of the first half of this year. Disney+ had racked up about 700,000 subs by year-end. Paramount+, the new global SVOD service from ViacomCBS, is due to arrive in 2021.

Ampere projects that if all pay-TV revenue is converted to OTT revenue, the average household would be able to subscribe to four services in Norway and Denmark, and three services in Sweden and Finland. This is before accounting for discounted streaming bundles and other aggregation strategies.

BritBox could fare well in the region, with an Ampere Analysis survey finding that 21 percent of respondents in the Nordics watch British TV series very often, compared to 14 percent across all markets. American content also has significant appeal; 37 percent of respondents watch U.S. TV series very often, compared to an average of 31 percent across all countries.

Maria Dunleavey, analyst at Ampere Analysis, noted, “As a region where there is demand for both English language and local content, the Nordics is an attractive market for new international players to launch there while allowing local players to co-exist. Our research has found Nordics households are not yet at SVOD capacity, but as new market entrants like Paramount+ edge closer to launch, the quality of content will prove key to capturing the interest—and wallets—of Nordic consumers.”