You can find the streaming survey of 2020 here.
On behalf of independent online comparison service moneyland.ch, market research institute GfK Switzerland conducted a representative survey of the music and video streaming habits of 1517 consumers across French-speaking and German-speaking Switzerland. The results show major differences in the way that different target groups and customers of different streaming services make use of streaming. Netflix dominates that Swiss video streaming market, while Spotify dominates the music streaming market.
Youtube use compared
While Youtube is technically a streaming service, it is not normally placed in the same category as other streaming services in Switzerland. Youtube is, by far, the streaming service which is the most widely-used in Switzerland, with 62 percent of survey participants using its services. Youtube is particularly popular among young adults: 84 percent of participants aged 19 to 25 years old use Youtube, while only one out of two adults above the age of 50 use the service.
Music and video streaming services: Differences in user habits
Video streaming services are widely used in Switzerland. Music streaming services, on the other hand, are much less popular. 64 percent of participants do not use music streaming services at all. 29 percent never use video streaming services (including Youtube), 53 percent do not use video streaming services (with the possible exception of Youtube). Men use streaming somewhat more than women, although the differences are not notable. Likewise, there are also no real differences across the “Röstigraben.” While individual streaming services (like Deezer) may be more popular in certain regions, streaming habits are similar across French-speaking and German-speaking Switzerland.
Differences between age groups are more pronounced. Young adults stream far more often than older adults. 41 percent of adults between the ages of 50 and 74 do not stream video at all (Youtube included). 21 percent of adults between the ages of 26 and 49 do not stream video, while only 9 percent of young adults between the ages of 19 and 25 never stream video.
Age differences also play a significant role in music streaming habits: 74 percent of adults between the ages of 50 and 74 do not use music streaming services. 58 percent of adults between the ages of 26 and 49 do not stream music, while 45 percent of young adults between the ages of 19 and 25 years old do not use music streaming services.
Paid streaming services compared
Around 13 percent of all survey participants use paid Netflix services. That makes Netflix the streaming service which is most widely used by paying Swiss consumers by a long shot. Its nearest competitors are Swisscom (video-on-demand) and Spotify, both of which are used by 8 percent of participants. 6 percent of participants use Apple Music and 5 percent use Apple Video (iTunes). Differences between age groups are major: 25 percent of young adults between the ages of 19 and 25 pay for Netflix services, while 15 percent pay for Spotify and 14 percent pay for Swisscom (video-on-demand).
Use of video streaming services compared
After Youtube, Netflix video streaming services are the most widely used among Swiss consumers, with 21 percent of participants using them. The video-on-demand service from Swisscom is used by 15 percent, while 12 percent use Google Play video streaming and 7 percent use UPC video-on-demand services. Around 4 percent of participants use the Teleclub Play flat-fee streaming service for Swisscom TV plan customers. Many other video streaming services only enjoy marginal use. Less than 4 percent of participants use Amazon, Sunrise, Sky Sports, Netzkino, DAZN, Hollystar, Sky Show and Watchbox.
The fact that video streaming services are most popular among young adults is not surprising, but the proportion of adults in this age group which use them is. 45 percent of participants between the ages of 19 and 25 years old use Netflix, while only 9 percent of adults above the age of 50 use this service. “The survey shows that almost one in two young adults use Netflix. That is a very high figure which highlights the dominance of Netflix in the Swiss market,” says telecom expert Ralf Beyeler.
Use of music streaming services compared
Spotify is the most widely-used music streaming service, with around 20 percent of participants using it. Apple Music comes next, being used by 12 percent, followed by Google Play Music at 11 percent and Soundcloud at 6 percent. Other music streaming services follow by a wide margin: Deezer is used by around 4 percent while Amazon, Napster, Qobuz and Tidal are used by less than 3 percent of survey participants. An interesting difference is found in the use of Deezer between French-speaking and German-speaking Switzerland, with 10 percent of participants in French-speaking Switzerland using Deezer, while only 2 percent of those in German-speaking Switzerland use the service.
Age-based differences in the use of specific services are also interesting: While only 3 percent of adults between the ages of 50 and 74 use Soundcloud, it is used by 8 percent of those aged 26 to 49 and by 14 percent of those aged 19 to 25. Spotify follows a similar trend: 11 percent of adults aged 50 to 74 use the service, while it is used by 25 percent of those aged 26 to 49 and 41 percent of those between the ages of 19 and 25 years old. These figures are particularly interesting when you consider that the use of Google Play Music (13 percent) and Apple Music (12 percent) is only slightly higher among young adults than it is across all demographics.
Around one in five consumers uses Netflix
Around one in five consumers in Switzerland uses Netflix, and around 65 percent of those that use Netflix pay for its services. That makes Netflix the most widely used paid streaming service. User habits are also interesting: Around 35 percent of Netflix users are not paying customers. 23 percent of Netflix users log in to the service using a friend or acquaintance’s login data. “Almost a quarter of users gain access to Netflix through friends and colleagues – a surprisingly high figure” in the opinion of moneyland.ch telecom expert Ralf Beyeler.
Regional differences in streaming behavior
A look at consumer behavior between urban and non-urban areas brings some interesting differences to light: Youtube is more popular in rural areas, with 63 percent of participants in non-urban regions using the service compared to 61 percent of urban participants. The exact opposite is true for Netflix, with 22 percent of participants residing in urban areas using the service, compared to just 18 percent of those in non-urban areas.
Youtube use is almost identical across German-speaking and French-speaking Switzerland. Netflix is slightly more popular in German-speaking Switzerland (21 percent) than French-speaking Switzerland (20 percent). A notable difference is found in the use of Swisscom’s video-on-demand service, which is significantly more popular in French-speaking Switzerland (19 percent) than it is in German-speaking Switzerland (14 percent).
More on this topic:
Unbiased music streaming comparison
Unbiased video streaming comparison
