Analysts question Netflix’s German chances

German market-watchers have questioned whether Netflix will be able to catch on-demand market leader Amazon when it launches in the country later this year.

Munich-based Veed Analytics, part of the Mücke, Sturm & Company consultancy, forecasts that Netflix would trail Amazon and others in the competitive German on-demand sector.

Veed’s chief marketing officer Bernd Riefler said: “Our content analyses show that Amazon Prime offers the largest catalogue of current movies and TV shows in Germany. Assuming Netflix Germany launches a similar TV show offering to Netflix US, they would only rank fourth in Germany.”

Riefler adds: “This raises the question of whether Netflix enters the German market too late.”

Amazon recently rebranded its German streaming service from Lovefilm to Prime Instant Video and, according to Veed, has more recent big-ticket movies than its rivals, although based on its US programming line-up Netflix will compete strongly in this area. Veed argues that Netflix will trail Amazon and others when it comes to top-ranking recent TV shows.

Thies Haase, a vice president at Veed Analytics said: “Amazon already locked the market with a very low price point and offers an attractive content catalogue. Netflix has a superior product in terms of technology and user-friendliness, but ultimately the user decides based on price and content.”

Whether Veed’s forecasts prove accurate remains to be seen, but what is clear is that Netflix will face stiff competition when it rolls out in Germany with Amazon, Snap, Watchever and Maxdome already established.

US-listed streaming service Netflix announced last month it will launch in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Belgium and Luxembourg this year.