Standalone SVOD revenues hit a new record in Sweden

Revenues from standalone SVOD subscriptions amounted to approximately 5 billion SEK for the full year of 2021, hitting a new record, according to Mediavision’s analysis of the Swedish streaming market for the fourth quarter and full year of 2021. The analysis and consultancy firm points out that it primarily stems from households signing up to additional services, rather than new households entering the market.

Since 2017, the Swedish standalone SVOD market has grown at an annual rate (CAGR) of +10%. Initially, growth was predominantly driven by more and more households subscribing to a standalone SVOD service. However, growth as measured in number of new households has diminished over the last two years. In 2021, approximately six out of ten Swedish households subscribed to a standalone SVOD service – a stable share compared to 2020. This figure is in line with the number of households subscribing to a digital pay TV service, although penetration for pay TV has remained stable for a longer period of time.

In 2021, Mediavision concluded that growth instead was driven by households signing up for a higher number of services (i.e., stacking). On average, a Swedish household subscribes to 2.1 standalone SVOD services today. However, a price war has started as new standalone SVOD services have entered the market at a significantly lower price point compared to market average. Consequently, growth in stacking has brought upon a lower average expense per subscription, amounting to 118 SEK per month in 2021 (-3% YOY).

“The standalone SVOD market continues to show healthy growth, even during 2021 that was characterized by maturity. The primary driver of growth is stacking – existing households are simply paying more for their supply of services. Nevertheless, the price war has pushed down average expense per subscription – despite several other, big services imposing price hikes. Going into 2022, we expect an eventful year as price and packaging strategies increase in importance on a maturing Swedish market,”  commented Natalia Borelius, Senior Analyst at Mediavision.