The surge in paid Video-On-Demand (VOD) services’ popularity has been a consistent trend in recent years. Yet, alongside this trend emerges a noteworthy phenomenon: up to 25% of subscribers do opt for shared accounts with friends or acquaintances rather than paying for these services individually. These insights are derived from the Atmedia Index research – a regular survey study conducted by Atmedia sales house.
‘At least 2,8 million Czechs aged 15–69 do watch the paid VOD services like Netflix, HBO Max, or Disney+ several times a month, with an average of 2,3 services being used concurrently by each user. This equates to roughly 6,5 million accounts or accesses to paid VOD platforms,’ calculates Pavel Müller, Head of Research & Marketing at Atmedia, referring to the results of the Atmedia Index research study for the second half of last year. Two-thirds of these accesses are directly paid for by subscribers, with an additional 12% facilitated through Pay-TV operators. These operators provide access to paid video libraries alongside a variety of television channels as part of their service offers.
However, there’s also a segment of accesses where users enjoy the services without even paying for them. ‘While subscribers do cover the cost of 78% of SVOD accesses, a significant one-fifth of accesses involves users watching content for free via shared accounts with their acquaintances or friends,’ points out Pavel Müller. He further notes that this phenomenon frequently translates into notable losses in subscription revenue for individual providers offering paid video libraries. ‘All services do face the issue of users watching their content for free through shared subscriber accounts, albeit to a different extent. In the case of one of the top five players on the Czech market, in the second half of last year such users constituted 14%, while for another provider, they accounted for a whole quarter,’ shares Pavel Müller, noting that Netflix, Voyo, HBO Max, Disney+, and Prima+ have dominated the paid VOD service market in the Czech Republic for a considerable amount of time now.
One Account – Serving Two, but Also Five People
Users of paid VOD services typically share their accounts between two people, although it’s not uncommon for groups of five or more individuals to share a single account. For certain streaming services, up to 15% of users who use shared accounts belong to groups of five or more people. However, the use of shared accounts doesn’t necessarily imply that users watch their preferred series and movies entirely for free. About half of these users chip in for their friends’ and acquaintances’ subscription costs, often in the higher tens of crowns per month. On the other hand, users who directly pay for paid VOD services to the service provider and do not use shared accounts, did spend an average of 334 CZK per month in the latter half of last year.
Our Slovak Neighbours Are Less Inclined to Share Accounts
In contrast to the Czech VOD service market, Slovaks are less prone to sharing subscription accounts. ‘Among all accesses to paid VOD services, 15% are shared, indicating a five-percentage-point difference compared to the Czech market,’ explains Pavel Müller, adding that otherwise, the Slovak market for paid video libraries mirrors the Czech one. Similar to the Czech Republic, 42% of Slovaks aged 15–69 are active users of paid VOD services, amounting to 1,4 million individuals. On average, each user subscribes to 2 services simultaneously, with popular options including Netflix, Voyo, HBO Max, Disney+, SkyShowtime, and JOJ Play.
Netflix Introduced an Account Sharing Alternative, Prompting Other Market Players to Follow Suit
Major players in the global paid streaming market are facing the issue of shared accounts’ dilemma. For instance, in 2023, Netflix revealed that more than 100 million households do share their accounts with additional users, while the number of subscribers alone surpassed 230 million at that time.[1] In response, Netflix has chosen to tackle the issue of shared accounts by offering the option of account sharing outside the household for an additional fee. Following suit, other global players are implementing similar strategies. Disney+, for instance, is gradually restricting password sharing in certain markets, while Warner Bros. Discovery is devising a similar strategy for its streaming service HBO Max, or rather, as of May, rebranded as Max. ‘Thanks to this approach, Netflix has successfully attracted millions of new subscribers. I anticipate that local players on the Czech market will eventually take a similar step, although likely not until the market for paid VOD services in the Czech Republic continues to expand and reach its saturation point,’ comments Pavel Müller. He draws a comparison, highlighting that while in the Czech Republic, 42% of individuals aged 15–69 used paid VOD services, in more developed markets, this percentage often climbs to two-thirds of households. For example, in the United Kingdom, in the fourth quarter of last year, at least one paid streaming service was used by 65% of households.[2] ‘There’s still ample room for growth on the Czech VOD service market,’ concludes Pavel Müller.
About the Survey Study
The survey research study has been conducted for Atmedia – the media representative of thematic TV channels – by the research company ResSOLUTION / Nielsen using the CAWI method. The survey did single out 4,153 respondents from the Czech National Panel and 3,047 respondents from the Slovak National Panel (online population aged 15–69). The survey was carried out in two data collection waves during Q3 and Q4 of 2023 (Czech Republic: 2.10. 2023 –16.10. 2023, 2.1. 2024 – 15.1. 2024; Slovakia: 2.10. 2023 – 24.10. 2023, 2.1. 2024 – 24.1. 2024).
Atmedia introduced the Atmedia Index study in mid-2021. It does provide the TV channels, media agencies, and other interested parties a comprehensive data, information, and insights into the three researched areas: (1) TV channels’ quality evaluation through their viewers’ eyes, (2) use of Pay-TV and Free TV, (3) use of paid Video-on-Demand (VOD) services.
About Atmedia
Atmedia Czech s.r.o. is a media sales house of almost 30 thematic TV channels, which has been active on the Czech market since 2008. Atmedia does handle the selling of TV advertising, and it currently represents many local as well as most of the international TV channels and TV groups on the Czech TV market, in particular AMC Networks, Warner Bros. Discovery, The Walt Disney Company, Antenna Group, or the Slovak JOJ group. At the beginning of 2010, Atmedia introduced the market to a very unique way of selling the advertising space via sales packages. Since 2021, has been regularly publishing the Atmedia Index, a valuable resource providing extensive data, information, and insights in three key domains: (1) the evaluation of television channels’ quality through the eyes of their viewers, (2) adoption and usage of Pay-TV and Free-to-Air services, (3) adoption and usage of subscription Video-on-Demand (SVOD) services.
[1] The Gurdian, Netflix expands crackdown on password sharing around the world, 23.5.2023, https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/may/23/netflix-crackdown-password-sharing
[2] Barb, Barb releases Q4 2023 SVOD subscriptions data from its Establishment Survey, 7.2.2024, https://www.barb.co.uk/news/barb-releases-q4-2023-svod-subscriptions-data-from-its-establishment-survey/
