Three in 10 Spanish homes using pay OTT, with Netflix trebling base

Three in 10 Spanish internet-connected households used premium online video services in Q4 2017, with the number of homes subscribing to Netflix trebling in 2017, according to Spanish market regulator the CNMC.

The most-used platform by internet consumers is Movistar+, which is subscribed to by 2.16 million homes, a penetration rate of 13.5%, followed by Netflix, whose user base multiplied by three in the course of 2017 to reach 1.5 million homes, or a penetration of 9.1%.

Vodafone TV Online took third place with 5.9% penetration, followed by Amazon Prime Video with 3.5%.

The CNMC found that Spaniards were spending on average three hours in front of the TV screen on weekdays, compared with two and a half hours viewing video on other devices such as mobile phones, tablets and computers. However, among the 16-24 age group, time spent viewing video on computers, tablets and mobiles amounted to 4.7 hours exceeded the average of 2.2 hours spent watching TV.

The regulator’s study of its household panel also found that four in 10 Spaniards watch video content on the internet at least once a week, with half of those viewing catch-up TV.

YouTube is the most used online audiovisual platform, accounting for 55% of usage, followed by broadcaster Atresmedia’s Atresplayer servie at 39%, public broadcaster service RTVE.es at 32% and Mediaset’s MiTele at 31%.

Two in 10 users of audiovisual services online and OTT TV admitted to using ad blockers, while some 19% were unaware of their existence.

The latest study by the CNMC also found that eight out of 10 Spanish internet users frequently accessed social networks, led by Facebook, down four points year-on-year at 61%, followed by Instagram, Google+ and Twitter. WhatsApp is the most popular online messaging service, used by nine out of 10 internet users compared with 21% using Facebook Messenger and 8% for Skype. Half of internet users made video calls, with 38% using WhatsApp, 11% using Skype and 7.4% using Facebook Messenger.

Mobile phones were the devices most frequently employed to access the web, used by 85% compared with 53% using laptops, 41% using desktops and 37% using tablets.