Barb: UK SVOD subs decline in Q4, with all majors seeing drop

Source: Barb

The SVOD footprint in the UK declined in the fourth quarter, with all major streamer seeing a drop in their subscriber bases, according to data from audience research outfit Barb.

Barb’s Establishment Survey showed that 18.8m UK homes (65.4%) had access to a subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service in Q4 2023, a decrease from 19.3m (67.3%) in Q3.

For the first time, Barb has published its Netflix advertising tier estimate, indicating that this service was taken by 1.45 million subscribers, representing 5.1% of homes.

Netflix overall reached 16.3 million UK homes (56.7%) in Q4, down from 16.7m (58.2%) in Q3.

Amazon Prime Video reached 12.4 million UK homes (43.1%), down from just under 13 million (45.3%) in Q3.

Disney+ meanwhile counted 7.3 million UK homes (25.6%) with access in Q4, a decrease from 7.6 million (26.7%) in Q3.

Apple TV+ had 1.98 million UK homes (6.9%) in Q4, also down from 2.2m (7.8%) in Q3, despite the success of local titles Slow Horses and Ted Lasso.

Paramount+ had 1.99 million UK homes (6.9%) with access, down from 1.93 million (6.7%) in Q3.

Sky’s streamer NOW meanwhile counted 1.82 million UK homes (6.4%) with in Q4, a drop from 1.9 million (6.5%) in Q3.

Doug Whelpdale, head of Iinsight at Barb said: “The latest data from our Establishment Survey show access to pure-play VOD services dropped slightly in Q4 last year. The proportion of homes with two or more services also slipped back compared to Q3, dipping from 13.3m (46.4%) to 12.8m (44.7%) in Q4. As they continue to battle it out in the UK viewing ecosystem, the festive period proved a competitive time. Families may have prioritised festive spending at a time when the broadcaster offering is strong. And mostly free.”