Julia Stoll
Research expert covering TV and video media
Like in other countries worldwide, the consumption of movies, TV shows, and videos on the internet in Sweden increased considerably in the past years. Between 2016 and 2022, the share of Swedes using video streaming platforms more than doubled. Additionally, the over-the-top video revenue in the Scandinavian country is forecast to grow by over 500 million U.S. dollars from 2022 to 2027, reaching roughly 1.58 billion U.S. dollars by 2027. While subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) has long been the most watched online video content segment, ad-supported streaming has clearly caught up.
The best-known example for the ad-based streaming model is YouTube, but also online television broadcasters and news websites are freely available. The most popular freely available online TV services in Sweden are TV4 Media’s TV4 Play and Sveriges Television’s SVT Play. Furthermore, following the launch of U.S.-based Pluto TV in Scandinavia in 2022, Viaplay Group’s former stand-alone AVOD service Viafree had been phased out and combined with Pluto TV, extending the streaming market in Sweden even more.
An increasingly competitive SVOD landscape
According to the most recent data, the most popular SVOD platform in 2021 was by far Netflix, followed by Viaplay and Disney+. However, the video streaming market is in a highly disruptive phase. Since 2019 local platforms, such as Viaplay have been growing considerably in Sweden and worldwide, showing the significance of local streamers and content also on a global scale. Besides, these streaming services faced further competitors, when Disney+ launched in September 2020 and HBO Nordic was replaced by HBO Max in late 2021. As a result of local providers and other competitors entering the Swedish video streaming market, Netflix which even though remains the SVOD platform with the most subscriptions, loses consumers and market shares in the Nordic countries.The growing ad-supported market
In addition to the SVOD market becoming crowded, ad-supported video streaming (commonly abbreviated as AVOD) and other freely available services gain ground in Sweden. The revenue generated with online video advertising in the country steadily increased in recent years and a survey from early-2023 found that the majority of respondents preferred to watch free ad-supported content over a paid ad-free option or at least accept some ads for a reduced price.The best-known example for the ad-based streaming model is YouTube, but also online television broadcasters and news websites are freely available. The most popular freely available online TV services in Sweden are TV4 Media’s TV4 Play and Sveriges Television’s SVT Play. Furthermore, following the launch of U.S.-based Pluto TV in Scandinavia in 2022, Viaplay Group’s former stand-alone AVOD service Viafree had been phased out and combined with Pluto TV, extending the streaming market in Sweden even more.
