Fiction and drama the name of the game so far – but change ahead?

22 May 2019

2018 was a record-breaking year on the Swedish TV market in several aspects. Both advertising and pay revenues demonstrated a strong growth, especially so regarding digital. As always, content and viewing are main drivers – which also makes 2019 highly interesting as the market continuously is getting more and more crowded. So, this week we’re delving into genres and viewing.

In 2018, the Swedish TV market showed record levels both in terms of turnover and penetration of online video services. And as of this year (Q1 2019) we can conclude that the daily reach of online video now is on par with traditional TV for the first time. So far, the strongest content genre, i e main driving force, has been fiction. Fiction attains the largest share of viewing (SOV) both in traditional linear TV and streaming. We now notice a slightly diverse development between traditional TV and streaming; fiction is growing its’ SOV in traditional TV but decreasing slightly in online video.

Drama & fiction share of viewing, online video and broadcast, 2018, Sweden

We all know that fiction is taking a large piece of the pie both in traditional and online viewing. As Mediavision has pointed out, local Big Budget productions such as Vår tid är nuBron and Det som göms i snö have been essential in this. But now we also notice that entertainment is picking up and increases in share of online viewing. In 2018, the entertainment genre grew by +35% YOY in SOV, highly driven by AVOD services.

As global streaming giants increasingly also produce local drama (i e in the Nordics), we predict fiction to stay strong also in the now gradually maturing online market. Netflix premiered its first Nordic original The Rain last year, followed by the Swedish original Störst av allt (Quicksand) (April 2019). HBO will soon premiere its Swedish original Gösta (July 1st).

For more insights and in-depth analysis, learn more about our recently published yearly analysis here: Swedish TV Market 2019/20.

Industry news:

Spotify tests voice assistant for cars
Spotify will run tests of a smart voice assistant designed for cars in order better understand how people consume audio while driving. The voice assistant called Car Thing is plugged into the cigarette lighter, the driver then addresses Car This with the phrase “Hey, Spotify”.

Nenda launches B2B streaming service
The newly launched company Nenda is launching a streaming service which is strictly aimed at businesses. Nenda has received SEK 5.5 million in a funding round and has taken aim at hotels, two hotel chains in Sweden have agreed on trying the service.

Rakuten launches free live streaming app
Rakuten has launched a live video streaming service called Rakuten Live which allows its users to live stream videos and communicate with viewers in real-time. The service offers a live commerce function, allowing shoppers to make purchases while watching.

TDC strikes Premier League deal with NENT
Danish TV and telecom operator TDC has struck a deal with NENT Group to broadcast Premier League coverage. Half of the matches will be available exclusively on YouSee’s streaming channel Xee in August.

Danish audiobooks more than doubled in 2018
The audiobook business is growing quickly, last year the number of audiobooks published in Denmark more than doubled, according to Dansk Biblioteks Center. 6457 new audiobooks were registered in 2018, compared to 3004 the year prior.

Tencent acquires Swedish games studio Sharkmob
Chinese tech conglomerate is acquiring the Swedish games developer Sharkmob based in Malmö. Sharkmob was founded in 2016 and has yet to release a game, the sum of the transaction was not reported.

Majority of Americans stream video
According to figures from NTIA most US viewers stream video, either in addition to or as a replacement of cable. According to analyst Edward Carlson the proportion of internet users watching videos online has grown to 70 percent in 2017 from 45 percent in 2013.

Mediavision in the news:

E-sport er det nye store, skal man tro tidligere Discovery-sjef […]
Analysevirksomheden Mediavision, kan endnu engang løfte sløret for at det går rigtigt godt i Sverige. TV markeder der, kan således se tilbage på endnu en rekord. Den korte version er at “svensk TV” i 2018 slog alle rekorder og havde den højeste omsætning siden 2010.
The Swedish TV market has seen its strongest growth in eight years. According to Mediavision, the SVOD market grew by 45% alone between 2017 and 2018, with ad-funded video on demand also making a major contribution.
Brytpunkten är här. Onlinetittandet i Sverige har nu en daglig räckvidd på 62 procent – exakt lika stor räckvidd som linjär-tv, enligt Mediavision. Onlinetittandet drivs framför allt av ökningen inom SVOD.

Industry events

*Events where Mediavision will be presenting