Are Scottish consumers turning away from subscription TV services?

A new survey conducted by ScotPulse found that 64% of Scottish SVOD subscribers have, or are planning to, cut back or cancel their subscription TV services, while 47% plan to spend less on TV entertainment subscriptions such as Sky, Netflix and Disney+.

Furthermore, 52% said they planned to use fewer paid-for TV services and 48% planned to use fewer SVOD services. This figured is compared with 75% who planned to use free-to-view services at the same level, and 14% who planned to use free television services more going forward.

The ScotPulse findings echo figures from BARB’s “Establishment Survey for Q2 2022” on SVOD uptake, which showed that seven out of eight SVOD services are down in Scotland, with the drop in this country being sharper than in the rest of the UK. Moreover, recent data from Kantar also revealed that the UK SVOD market had declined by 488.000, with 1.66 million SVOD services cancelled during the second quarter of 2022, following 1.51 million cancellations in the first one.

“With the current economic backdrop causing consumers to examine their spending habits, it is clear from our research that TV subscriptions is one of the areas where people can reduce their costs, with 64% of respondents stating they have or are considering cutting back or cancelling their SVOD packages,”  commented Kathleen Wiseman, Head of Consumer Insights at ScotPulse.

Richard Williams, Managing Director of Digital at STV, who commissioned the research, added: “UK content still dominates UK viewing. BARB figures show that 73% of all in-home viewing in the first half of this year was to broadcast channels and broadcaster VOD services, nearly six times the size of viewing delivered by the global streamers. There is room for everyone in this market, but it is clear that in the current climate, the free TV services – with all the brilliant original, high-quality content they offer – should become an even more attractive proposition for viewers.”