Between September and December 2021, the number of VOD-enabled households that subscribed to at least one video service in Germany grew to 21.2 million, up 425.000 quarter on quarter, representing 51% of homes, Kantar revealed in its latest “Entertainment on Demand” study in Germany.
Furthermore, the report disclosed that 4.5% of subscription video on demand households in Germany took out a new subscription in the fourth quarter of 2021. During this period, 34% of VOD subscriptions taken out were by households who were new to the SVOD category, whilst a record number (20%), made a direct switch from one provider to another, indicating dwindling appetite for numerous paid streaming services.
Regarding content, Netflix’s “Money Heist” was again the top enjoyed title in the fourth, followed by “Squid Game” and “The Witcher,” both also Netflix titles. Big budget Amazon series “The Wheel of Time” was the fourth most enjoyed title across German VOD households.
However, Amazon Prime Video has more reasons to celebrate than Netflix in this country, as Kantar discovered that nearly half of German households have Amazon Prime access. In fact, in Q4, Amazon managed to further increase Prime membership in the country: a record 49.5% of German households now have access to Prime membership. This gain in Prime membership meant Amazon was able to continue to lead in new SVOD subscriber share over the quarter, holding 45.5%, ahead of Disney+ in second place on 17.0% and Netflix in third at 13.9%.
As previously said, “The Wheel of Time” performed well for Prime Video, coming through as the fourth most enjoyed VOD title in the quarter across Germany. However, the data shows the title has been more successful at engaging existing subscribers than it has been as a specific draw for new subscriber acquisition. Football and Sports in general are still the major content-based driver for Prime Video. At the same time, free trials remain a critical tool for Amazon to drive new Prime Video subscribers, with 43% of new sign ups in the quarter utilizing trials to gain access.