Barb survey - Netflix/Amazon/Now TV

[DarylM]

Barb have released the results of a survey estimating the number of households who subscribe to online video services.  24% of all households subscribe to either Netflix, Amazon or Now TV.

Their estimated figures are:

Netflix - 5 million households in the UK (an increase of 1.4 million since the end of 2014)

Amazon - 1.6 million households (up 0.5 million on 2014)

Now TV - just under 1 million (up 0.3 million on 2014)

Bear in mind that Now TV is intended as a service for people who don't have full Sky via a dish, so can't be compared directly to Netflix.  Sky still have more UK subscribers than Netflix.

More details here.

[dr_necessitor]

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@SeeMoreDigital wrote:

Indeed they do but from what I'm aware, they don't offer an pre-paid voucher code/pass system as an incentive. Which I suspect is the way most customers are attracted to Now TV.

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They did used to sell gift certificates online (bought one about 3 years ago) until about 2 years ago. I see that they now sell gift cards in certain "real" shops (WH SMith, Morrissons etc) but they only have (I think) 3 different fixed prices - £15, £25 and £50. Validated by retailer at point of sale, scratch off panel on rear of card to reveal a code which you then apply when logged into your account.

Yes, I'm a goldmine of useless information... 😉

[dr_necessitor]

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@commanda6 wrote:

Card companies like Visa and MasterCard hold onto details like your age (probably, date of birth) which means nowTV can verify your age when they validate your card because of the way the law is in the UK. They are pretty much legally obliged to verify your age. So this probably isn't something we can get round.

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Yes you're more or less correct there. Type of card (credit/debit/charge) and "flavour" of card (VISA, MC etc) can be determined from the first n digits of card number. In the UK, I understand that the consumer credit act etc requires the customer to be 18 or over to get a credit or charge card. So, age verification can be done simply & easily in real-time by confirming that a card number is valid (i.e. it's a credit card, if that's the requirement, and it's "live", i.e. not barred, on the lost/stolen hotlist etc).

[commanda6]

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@dr_necessitor wrote:

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@commanda6 wrote:

Card companies like Visa and MasterCard hold onto details like your age (probably, date of birth) which means nowTV can verify your age when they validate your card because of the way the law is in the UK. They are pretty much legally obliged to verify your age. So this probably isn't something we can get round.

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Yes you're more or less correct there. Type of card (credit/debit/charge) and "flavour" of card (VISA, MC etc) can be determined from the first n digits of card number. In the UK, I understand that the consumer credit act etc requires the customer to be 18 or over to get a credit or charge card. So, age verification can be done simply & easily in real-time by confirming that a card number is valid (i.e. it's a credit card, if that's the requirement, and it's "live", i.e. not barred, on the lost/stolen hotlist etc).

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Hi @dr_necessitor

Close but not quite 

The age requirement for a debit card in UK card that can therefore be charged and is linked to your bank account is 16. for credit cards which are in effect a short-term loan the age requirement is 18 your age can still be verified using a debit card because card companies mainly Visa and MasterCard hold onto the details required to verify age and allow merchants to perform an over 18 yes or no check if necessary. Other card providers don't necessarily support age verification. which is why now TV, only supports Visa and MasterCard card

In the case of now TV when you enter/update your card details now TV validate your card by issuing small 10p charge on the card. If the charge successfully goes through it is immediately reversed, so the 10p should never leave your bank account. Because Visa and MasterCard hold on to the details required verify age someone try to use a debit card on now TV when they were under 18 that the verification process should in theory not succeed. 

I also believe that the name on a now TV account has to match name news on the card at least the surname anyway. So if Mr Smith had a now TV account and tried to use Mr Tom's card system wouldn't let him do it

[dr_necessitor]

@commanda6 yes you're description is more accurate than mine especially re debit cards, but I was trying (poorly) to focus the point on credit cards. As you say, you have to be 18 to borrow money by any method (except loan sharking presumably). So there is an implicit age check of 18 by knowing that it's a UK issued credit card. Not sure about charge cards like Amex come to think of it (although I expect one can probably still have one of those at their discretion even if aged under 16 or 18 and you're a squillionaire!). The minimum age to have a debit card can be as low as about 12 years old with some bank accounts for "juniors" I think, so yes an explicit age check would/should be done depending on card type and issuing country.

[commanda6]

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@dr_necessitor wrote:

@commanda6 yes you're description is more accurate than mine especially re debit cards, but I was trying (poorly) to focus the point on credit cards. As you say, you have to be 18 to borrow money by any method (except loan sharking presumably). So there is an implicit age check of 18 by knowing that it's a UK issued credit card. Not sure about charge cards like Amex come to think of it (although I expect one can probably still have one of those at their discretion even if aged under 16 or 18 and you're a squillionaire!). The minimum age to have a debit card can be as low as about 12 years old with some bank accounts for "juniors" I think, so yes an explicit age check would/should be done depending on card type and issuing country.

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@dr_necessitor I've done a bit of digging

It seems that the minimum age for a debit card largely depends upon me organisation/bank you're getting from for some places the minimum age is 16. For others, individuals a young 11 can get a debit card in UK. 11 is a bit too young have a debit card, if you ask me, but then again what do I know .I can remember, I wasn't able to get a debit card until I was 16.

[dr_necessitor]

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@commanda6 wrote:

@dr_necessitor I've done a bit of digging

It seems that the minimum age for a debit card largely depends upon me organisation/bank you're getting from for some places the minimum age is 16. For others, individuals a young 11 can get a debit card in UK. 11 is a bit too young have a debit card, if you ask me, but then again what do I know .I can remember, I wasn't able to get a debit card until I was 16.

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Yikes! I was in my mid-20s when the first debit card I can remember was invented! (*)

(*) reference to Barclays Connect card, I think it was roughly in the early 1980s? I recall working on some IT system changes down in Northampton to accommodate it. Other debit cards were/are available. Happy days...

[commanda6]

Hi all

@DarylM  I read about this a few days ago. I'm not sure if all these figures hold true, because bearing in mind that all three of these services are deep in deep out no contract (yes, Amazon do provide a monthly subscription for those that just want prime instant video for those who didn't know that) . I wonder how these figures came about. That's why I always take things like this with a pinch of salt , especially when it comes to no contract services.

The figures probably came about one three-way

• there based on the number of accounts. These services have on file, but not necessarily the active number of subscriptions
• there based on the active number of subscriptions at the time of the survey
• or they are based on the average number of subscriptions throughout the year

in order for these figures to be somewhere close to true, it would have to be the last option. But there in mind that your in game of thrones now TV probably has a lot more people using then it would normally

I too am one of those people that subscribes to all three of the main services

[Andy]

@commanda6

The figures are probably as reliable as you are going to get, BARB are set up by broadcasters specifically for the purpose of providing them with information on audience behaviour, so whilst there's always an element of fuzziness when you are using a representative sample to mirror the behaviour of the population as a whole, they are likely to be more useful than reading The Sun or chatting to a bloke down the pub! 😉

http://www.barb.co.uk/about-us/frequently-asked-questions/

[commanda6]

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@Andy wrote:

@commanda6

The figures are probably as reliable as you are going to get, BARB are set up by broadcasters specifically for the purpose of providing them with information on audience behaviour, so whilst there's always an element of fuzziness when you are using a representative sample to mirror the behaviour of the population as a whole, they are likely to be more useful than reading The Sun or chatting to a bloke down the pub! 😉

http://www.barb.co.uk/about-us/frequently-asked-questions/

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@Andy you learn something every day 

[DarylM]

Unsurprisingly, the consumer group in which Now TV is closest to Amazon is with viewers who only have terrestrial television.

I thought that Now TV might have had the edge over Amazon in this group, since it's a nice pay-lite way to get the best of Sky for people who don't have (or want) a dish.  But Amazon is complicated by the fact that people have Prime for reasons other than the video service.

This survey doesn't cover the number of hours per week/month people spend watching each service.  I imagine that Now TV would overshadow Amazon in this regard.