Alex Trelinski
STREAMING giant Netflix has lost 1.6 million subscribers in Spain over recent months with Amazon Prime customers overtaking it, according to the latest Barlovento Comunicacion survey.
The drop in the Netflix subscriber base comes on the heels of recent major decisions, including the controversial move to ban the sharing of passwords outside the same household.
Though the move made economic sense for the company, it has caused a fall in subscribers, resulting in Netflix to giving up its market leader position to Amazon Prime.
Prime has experienced impressive growth, reaching a 53% penetration in households, thanks to its ease of use and the inclusion of new formats and audience grabbing Spanish productions such as ‘Operacion Triunfo’.
In contrast, Netflix now has 46.1% market penetration and its strategy of incorporating advertisements into its services and offering cheaper subscriptions has not been enough to retain some people- many of whom have opted for other platforms that are commercial-free and still allow account sharing.
Barlovento Comunicación also points out that Netflix’s loss of subscribers is not an isolated event, but part of a general downward trend for streamers.
In previous studies, the platform experienced drops of 2.5 and 3.2 million users.
These numbers indicate a shift in streaming market dynamics and user preferences.
In the overall streaming platform landscape, Disney+, HBO Max, and Movistar Plus+ follow Amazon Prime and Netflix, with 31%, 23.5%, and 16.3% respectively in terms of subscriptions.
In free platforms, RTVE Play is in first place with 21.7%, followed closely by the Atresmedia Player, with Pluto TV and Mitele completing the list.
