Decline in UK subscription video access

In Q2 2022, 19.19 million UK homes ( 67% of households) had access to an SVOD service, a decrease of 382k, or almost 2%, from 19.57 million in Q1 2022.

Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Now all saw quarterly drops in the number of UK homes with access to their services.

Some 17.08 million homes ( 60%) had access to Netflix in Q2, down 206k, or just over 1%, from 17.29 million in Q1; 12.76 million homes ( 45%) had access to Amazon Prime Video in Q2, a decrease of 589k, or 4%, from 13.35 million in Q1 and 2.07 million homes ( 7%) had access to Now in Q2, a decline of 64k, or almost 3%, from 2.13 million in Q1.

Disney+ and Apple TV+ bucked the trend with small quarterly gains: 6.62 million homes ( 23%) had access to Disney+ in Q1, an increase of 91k, or just over 1%, from 6.53 million in Q1; 1.61 million homes ( 6%) had access to Apple TV+ in Q1, up 43k, or almost 3%, from 1.57 million in Q1. 

The establishment survey helps Barb to understand the characteristics of UK households, part of ensuring that its daily reporting of television audiences is representative of the whole population.

Barb chief executive Justin Sampson said: “Our latest data confirm other sources which have reported declining subscription levels for SVOD services during the first half of 2022.

“We don’t ask households why they choose to add or drop subscriptions, although the sharp increase in energy prices in March/April must have been a catalyst for people to review all their monthly outgoings. The numbers we report today show SVOD services aren’t immune as households work hard to make ends meet.”