Leading VOD services in Poland
Most leading VOD services used in Polish households have been Polish – for example, Player, CDA Premium, or Ipla – but the international giant Netflix has seen a significant rise in popularity. VOD users seem to be migrating from Polish services to Netflix and HBO GO, with numerous exceptions like the thriving Player.pl. In terms of revenue, YouTube is the leading VOD platform by far, followed by platforms like cda.pl and HBO MaxMost VOD subscribers are young adults. The second largest group of people who have opted for subscriptions are those between 35 and 45 years old. The majority of this group was male.
Content and consumption habits
Monthly subscriptions are by far the most commonly chosen, compared to pay-per-view and other deals. Most people spend two to three hours watching VOD content. The main reasons VOD gained popularity and was chosen by viewers was that they found nothing of interest on TV and could stop the show they were watching at the time they wanted and return to watch their choice whenever they wanted.People chose to use paid VOD because of the lack of commercials and the ability to select the best movies and series. Better smoothness of reception also turned out to be an important factor of choice. Poles most often chose a TV for daily video content viewing. However, it was noticeable that the smartphone took the lead in watching the video several times a day.
The popularity of VOD is expected to continue rising rapidly over the next few years. Annual revenues are predicted to reach over 470 million U.S. dollars by 2026. International companies are expected to invest more in VOD in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. At the same time, Polish companies and content creators realize the market’s potential and continuously develop new material.