Netflix is having a significant impact on subscription TV uptake in Central and Eastern European, belying the lackluster perception of the platform when comparing its results in CEE to those from Western Europe. The newly-released data comes from IHS Markit’s home entertainment analyst, Andrey Popov, as reported by Digital TV Europe.
Speaking at the Digital TV CEE conference in Budapest, Popov stated that online subscriptions in CEE are set to grow by 65% this year, and are estimated to have a CAGR of 38% over the next five years, with Netflix alone accounting for two thirds of this growth.
These predictions fly in the face of previous industry analysis claiming that Netflix is failing in CEE due to its poor localisation and high price point. Popov went on to say that by the end of 2017, online services like Netflix will account for 11% of all total subscription services, growing to 20% and 11 million users by 2021.
After two years active in CEE, Netflix is on course to hold the fifth-largest subscription base in the region by the end of this year, and is estimated to rise up to third place in 2018, though the platform’s performance in CEE still lags significantly behind that of Western Europe.
