Netflix now has an Australian subscriber audience of over 5.75 million Australians according to a study by Roy Morgan Research, however, 40 per cent of those people admit to watching less than three hours a week and 16 per cent admitted they had it but never watched it!
The 5.75 million viewers represents 2.23 million Australian residences.
The study found that over two in five Netflix subscribers stream less than three hours of its content during an average week—including 26 percent who watched some Netflix but less than three hours in the last seven days, and the 16 per cent who didn’t watch any at all.
Some 35 per cent of people with a household Netflix subscription spend three to seven hours watching, and 14 per cent spend eight to 14 hours. Less than one in 10 Netflix subscribers (nine per cent) had a real ‘binge-viewing’ week, watching 15 or more hours of content.
Although the overall take-up of Netflix now rivals that of Foxtel, those with the Pay TV provider spend around twice as much time watching. The majority of Foxtel subscribers spend at least eight hours a week watching, including over a third who watch for 15 hours or more. Only around one in 20 people with Foxtel haven’t watched it at all in the last seven days.
Commenting on the study, Roy Morgan Research CEO, Michelle Levine, said: “It took just over a year for Netflix to reach one in four Australians – but what at first looked like a ceiling may well turn out to be a base.
“Over the past few months, almost half of Netflix’s total growth has come from homes of empty nesters aged 45 to 64. Notably, this is the most common household type in Australia—and their Netflix adoption still has plenty of room to grow.
“The full impact of Netflix as a competitor for viewership, and entertainment dollars, remains to be felt. Just yesterday, Netflix announced it was introducing a downloading option for mobiles and tablets, allowing subscribers to watch selected shows offline—starting with their original content including Orange is The New Black and The Crown.
“Video streaming weighs heavily on mobile data limits. Offline access now further distinguishes SVOD from traditional broadcast television, which remains an at-home media. Other free and paid-for media owners will need to continue to adapt to the new ‘on demand’ world of television in different ways.
“Local competitor Stan actually benefits from continued Netflix growth. As the more widely known service, Netflix is the gateway into SVOD. The bulk of Stan’s customers started with Netflix before adding the second service to their home entertainment mix.
“In its first year, Netflix had limited impact on Foxtel, with SVOD catering to a very different audience than Pay TV. However with mid-life households now discovering SVOD, this puts more pressure on the Pay TV service to justify its premium cost to subscribers. One good area to investigate is the big difference in how much time their subscribers spend watching compared with SVOD, and that its sports content appeals to men—who Roy Morgan’s research shows are much more likely to be the decision-maker when it comes to the home’s Pay TV services.
“Meanwhile Free-to-Air commercial networks recently launched Freeview FV app to deliver live and on-demand content to mobile devices. This and other developments from the commercial networks aim to keep viewers tuned in to their shows (and ads). However Roy Morgan’s data on usage of the networks’ existing online catch-up streaming services suggests that younger viewers in particularly won’t be reclaimed simply by offering the same content on demand,” Levine said.
