While cinema has not recovered yet, TVOD keeps growing in Sweden

In 2022, the number of cinema visits in Sweden was still 5.5 million lower than 2019, the year before Covid, according to statistics from the Swedish Cinema Owners Association. Buying or renting video online, TVOD, on the other hand, grew strongly in Sweden last year: close to 30% of Swedish households have rented or bought content this way an average month in 2022, marking a new record for the segment in Sweden, according to Mediavision.

An average month in 2022, 28% of the Swedish households rented or bought TVOD content. TVOD is an abbreviation of “transactional video on demand,” which is the digital streaming service for what used to be “video rental store.” Compared to 2021, TVOD has grown with 15%, which is a new record level. This also means that household spend on TVOD has increased by nearly 6% compared to 2021.

Moreover, according to Mediavision’s latest analysis of the Swedish TV and streaming market, the average monthly spend for households that bought/rented video online was SEK 145 in 2022. Movies is what most households rent, unlike other paid streaming services where series is the most popular content.

“Although cinema seems to be recovering, it is still some far from the numbers before the pandemic. For TVOD, on the other hand, 2022 meant record growth. The fact that many major titles were launched on subscription SVOD services (such as Netflix, Viaplay or Disney+) during last year does not seem to have had a negative impact on the development. Consumers clearly appreciate the digital rental services and, unlike cinema, they do not seem to think that the supply has been negatively affected by the pandemic,”  commented Marie Nilsson, CEO at Mediavision.