Mexico. Access to audiovisual content via subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) streaming platforms continues to increase its preference for access to audiovisual content in Mexico.
This is based on its tariff competitiveness, exclusivity in the premiere and transmission of titles, diversification in its plans and forms of contracting, as well as the growing adoption of connectivity and its different access devices.
In absolute numbers, the accounting of subscriptions to SVOD platforms amounted to 13.7 million in the first half of 2024, a figure 4.4% higher in its annual comparison, a slight rebound in the growth recorded in previous periods.
This availability of accounts enables access to content by subscription to 43 million Internet users (45% of the total), by making a periodic payment either directly or through bundling with telecommunications services or other digital subscriptions.
SVOD Platforms vs. Traditional Content Access Paths
Precisely, the aforementioned supply conditions have not only boosted the preference of SVOD platforms, but have also negatively impacted other traditional forms of access to audiovisual content.
One of the main causes of the boost in the hiring of SVOD platforms is the monthly price that starts at $49 pesos per month. Among the most affordable cases are MGM+ and Sony One, both of which recently entered the Mexican market, with a cost of $59 pesos.
Additionally, the diversification of plans at a lower price with ads from $99 pesos per month (Netflix), have intensified the tariff competitiveness of these alternatives for access to audiovisual content.
Another advantage that has encouraged the hiring of subscription streaming platforms is the growing availability of original premiere content and the transmission of sporting events and live reality shows.
The shortening of the exhibition windows of premiere films directly in SVOD players, which sometimes reaches as early as 45 days after their release in theaters, has been a factor for users to choose to wait for their availability in streaming, rather than go to enjoy the content on the big screen.
All this has caused households and people in Mexico to increasingly choose to subscribe to SVOD platforms, as opposed to having the pay TV service or even going to the movies on a recurring basis.
The latter is reflected in the numbers of restricted TV subscriptions, which reached 17.2 million at the end of the first half of 2024 and turned out to be 7.4% lower in their annual comparison.
While in the same period, the number of tickets sold (139 million) and box office revenues ($9,583 million pesos) contracted 14.7% and 12.3%, respectively, according to figures from the National Chamber of the Cinematographic Industry (Canacine).
The Future of Subscription Streaming
Today, SVOD platforms are beginning to regain their dynamism, explained by the above factors. However, they also face other forms of access to free content and even social networks that offer new ways of entertainment for audiences.
It is clear that mainly through the way of prices and offer of exclusive content, is that they register a new boost in their contracting and that they have even managed to consolidate themselves as alternatives that compete head-on with traditional ways of accessing audiovisual content, such as cinema and pay TV.
This intensification in competition between different forms of audiovisual entertainment has created an environment of strategic adaptation and adjustments in business plans and types of offer to not only maintain the attention and preference of audiences, but also to attract new ones.
The future of this industry is seen as a very dynamic one that adapts to the socio-economic conditions of demand, the competitive strategy of the different alternatives for access to content and the evolution of the various existing business models.
Analysis by Radamés Camargo of The Competitive Intelligence Unit, The CIU.
