Netflix now in over 1 in 10 Australian homes

Netflix now in over 1 in 10 homes reaching 2.63 million Australians aged 14 and over

The number of Australian homes with a Netflix subscription rose again in September to 968,000 (10.5%), up another 113,000 from 855,000 in August, the latest subscription video on demand data from Roy Morgan Research shows.

The rapidly expanding net penetration of the US-based Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD) service has exceeded 100,000 Australian homes each month since launching locally in March. 2.63 million Australians 14+ now live in a home with a Netflix subscription—another 409,000 more than in August.

Growth in number of Households with Netflix

Source: Roy Morgan Single Source, April – September 2015, average monthly sample = 4,306 Australians 14+

19.8% of Young Couple households are subscribed to Netflix, just ahead of 18.9% of Young Singles and 17.8% of Young Parents. But it’s not just younger households who have subscribed: nearly 1 in 6 Mid-Life Families have Netflix (15.3%) as do almost 1 in 10 Mid-Life Households (9.4%).

However just 1.5% of Older Households have so far subscribed to Netflix. Since there are more of these households than any other type, the small penetration within this group weighs down the overall figure. If we exclude these Older Households—for whom SVOD is barely on the radar—Netflix can be seen in 1 in 7 younger and mid-life Aussie homes (14.4%).

Proportion of Household Types with Netflix

Source: Roy Morgan Single Source, September 2015, n = 3,907 Australians 14+

Roy Morgan’s Helix Personas tool also shows that Metrotech households are the most likely to have subscribed to Netflix (14.4%), followed by those in the Leading Lifestyles community (12.3%) and Aussie Achievers (11.2%).

Tim Martin, General Manager – Media, Roy Morgan Research, says: “Netflix service adoption in households continues to grow at a rate in the double digits month to month. These latest September figures show the number of subscriptions up 13% (over 113,000 more homes) since August, which was up 16% from July.

“Netflix reaches 2.6 million Aussies aged 14+ (13.4%) in their homes, or on their mobiles and tablets. This ‘people’ rate is higher than the proportion of households because the homes more likely to subscribe to Netflix are often those with more people in them—such as young singles living in share houses or parents with teenage kids.

“The media is reporting today that Optus is to again offer 6 months of free Netflix to new broadband customers, a repeat of its partnership when the service first launched locally in March. With Telstra TV imminent and TPG becoming Australia’s second-biggest internet service provider with its takeover of iiNet, Optus is clearly hoping its partnership of Netflix will give it a boost in the broadband market.”