Sky Challenges Netflix in Spain with NOW TV
Sky are launching NOW TV in Spain for €10 a month and it
looks like they could chip away at Netflix’s control of the market.
NOW TV has been chipping away at the on-demand streaming
market and have managed to gain a sizeable share of the market from Netflix.
NOW TV has been competing against Netflix at their own game
by offering a broad selection of original content and classic and new motives.
They, along with Amazon’s Instant Video Service, have provided some much need
competition to the market.
Sky are now gearing up to launch in Spain to challenge the
near-monopoly of the market that Netflix has. The Sunday Telegraph are reporting that Sky see Spain as the perfect launching pad for opening up to the European market.
The €10 a month price tag of NOW TV is going to make it an
attractive alternative (or possibly a supplement) for Netflix, which has been
unchallenged in the Spanish market for a while now. It’s also believed that
Amazon will be launching their Instant Video in Spain by the end of the year.
Research from Netflix has suggested that less than a third
of Spanish households subscribe to a Pay-TV service, unlike the over two-thirds
of British households that do. As such Spain has a large market for on-demand
streaming services, even if Spaniards spend more time outside than inside
thanks to the weather.
The weather gets colder during the winter though, even in Southern
Spain. So millions of Spaniards will find it difficult to resist the allure of
staying inside curled up on the sofa watching Netflix or NOW TV.
The cost has always been a factor for why Spaniards don’t
purchase Pay-TV but the recovering economy makes the price tag of €10 for hours
of entertainment good value.
Sky are taking on some risks by expanding into the Spanish
market. Even though many Spanish bars use the Sky logo to advertise the footy
they’ve got on the TV Sky doesn’t actually have satellite operation in the
country. They made the decision several years ago to avoid trying to compete with the Spanish satellite operators Canal+ and Vivendi.
