For the first time, the number of Quebecers subscribing to a video-on-demand platform has fallen. The exponential growth of recent years ended in 2022. Should this be seen as the beginning of a decline or rather simple post-deconfinement stabilization?

“Yes, there is a post-pandemic effect. Many people have subscribed to platforms to pass the time. But there are also thoseinflation, which affects everyone. The first thing people will cut is entertainment spending. And that could be a trend that will become noticeable over a few years,” notes Bruno Guglielminetti, spokesman for the NETendances surveys at the Academy of Digital Transformation (ATN).

After the latest ATN poll released on Thursday, 68% of Quebec internet users subscribed to at least one paid video platform in the last year. A slight decrease of 3% compared to 2021.

Netflix is ​​still by far the most popular platform, but the number of users has declined. While 57% of Quebec internet users had access to Netflix at home in 2021, according to the study, it is now 51%. That’s about the same level as 2020 — and still much higher than 2019 before the pandemic hit.

“Netflix is ​​the only loser from falling subscribers. It is the only international platform to suffer losses. Everyone else gains subscribers. It shows that there is segmentation. The competition is getting tougher and people are switching from one platform to another. They understood that they could opt out of one platform and migrate to another. We’re not that far removed from the time when it was more or less just Netflix,” stresses Bruno Guglielminetti.

Prime and Disney+ are growing

According to him, however, we shouldn’t overinterpret these numbers and believe that Netflix will soon be overtaken by one of its competitors. “Prime Video leverages people who are already Amazon subscribers. Disney attracts families and plays with its impressive catalogue. But none produces as much original content as Netflix. As long as Netflix produces more than the others, it will remain the first platform,” argues Mr. Guglielminetti. He notes in the same breath that the number of Netflix subscribers worldwide started to increase again towards the end of 2022 after a difficult start to the year.

The percentage of Internet users in Quebec with access to Prime Video has increased from 29% to 34% in the last year; at Disney+ from 18% to 24%. With 14% of them, Crave has made an impressive jump of 6% in one year thanks to the catalog of the American channel HBO.

By contrast, the reach of ICI Tou.tv Extra and Club illico declined by 1% and 2% respectively. “What hurts Tou.tv and Illico is that people know that the original programs that are out there are likely to end up on Radio-Canada and TVA next year,” says Mr. Guglielminetti.

Traditional television holds up

Admittedly, for the second year in a row, we’re seeing more Quebecers subscribe to a paid platform than cable. But broadly speaking, the main thing we see is traditional television resisting. This is one of the conclusions ofanother study published this week, this one from the Canada Media Fund. We learn that 81% of Francophones in the country watched live TV in the last month when this survey was conducted this summer.

The curve will not rise again until the economic situation improves

“We have buried traditional television several times in recent years. But in the end, we’re pleasantly surprised to see that people are finally more attached to it than we thought. I think it’s an offering that complements the platforms,” ​​says Florence Girot, head of forecasting and innovation at Medienfonds.

“With inflation, people are having to tighten their budgets and I have a feeling some will return to traditional television. The platforms have reached a plateau. And the curve will not rise again until the economy improves,” confirms Bruno Guglielminetti of the Academy of Digital Transformation.

According to ATN, nearly a quarter of Quebec’s internet users are now subscribers to three or more platforms. The proliferation of television production, now spread across multiple listening services, is inevitably costly to consumers. In 2019, just under 4% of Quebec internet users paid for at least three platforms.

To see in the video