Streaming platforms have relied on advertising in recent months to make their business model profitable. A scenario that, in some cases, has had a positive impact on the number of subscribers. In others, like Amazon Prime Video, it seems not so much. At least, in territories like the United Kingdom.
Streaming platforms have become one of the main sources of entertainment for many users. Although during their first years of activity, all of them opted for a business model without advertising, over time the approach has changed. Currently, most offer plans with advertising breaks that seek from advertisers the financial support they need to make their investments profitable.
However, for users this is not good news. As Advanced Television reports based on Entertainment on Demand (EoD) data, platforms such as Prime Video have found a significant lack of support from their subscribers in territories such as the United Kingdom. We remember that in this region, advertising breaks have been active since February.
A difficult quarter
The Prime Video platform is usually quite affected by seasonality, due to the linking of content with new registrations of users who want to subscribe to Prime. A scenario that always means that during the first quarter of the year, the numbers are not always as good as during the Christmas period. However, this year it seems that the company is going through more difficulties than usual.
Since the end of January, Amazon required payment of an extra 3.45 euros from all users who did not want to have advertising breaks while enjoying their favorite series and movies. Since that date, “ hundreds of thousands of subscribers ” decided to leave the service immediately. Affecting both the proportion of new subscribers and the total number of them. As well as Prime users who interact with the video platform. Specifically, the rate of subscribers who decided to unsubscribe from the platform was, according to the aforementioned media, the lowest since the beginning of 2020.
Netflix follows the opposite trend
On-demand content now has more competition than ever. With a multitude of platforms seeking to find the magic formula with which to establish itself as a market leader. Netflix seems to be very close to it. Continuing with the same study cited, it is the first platform to which 52% of subscribers to these services go in search of inspiration to enjoy new content. 1% more than the previous year. Always keeping in mind that this is a study carried out in the United Kingdom. 60 % of Netflix subscribers who have multiple contracted platforms consider Netflix as their most important streaming service. An increase compared to the previous year also of 1%.
For its part, Apple TV+ appears to have remained in first place for new subscriptions during the first quarter of 2024, with a 16% share.
