15.7 Pct of Japanese Subscribe to Video Streaming Services

August 27, 2018

Tokyo- An opinion poll by Jiji Press showed Monday that 15.7 pct of people in Japan subscribe to online video streaming services to watch movies.

The survey found that 82.4 pct of respondents are not subscribers to such services.

The proportion of subscribers stood at 21.6 pct among respondents aged 18-29, 25.1 pct among those in their 30s, 23.1 pct in their 40s, 14.8 pct in their 50s and 13.0 pct in their 60s. The rate stood at 4.2 pct among people aged 70 or older.

Since the world's largest online video provider Netflix Inc. and Amazon Japan K.K. launched their online video streaming services in Japan in September 2015, competition has become increasingly fierce in the Internet-based service.

Asked about the frequency of the use of DVD rental shops to watch movies, 60.0 pct of respondents said they do not use such stores at all.

The rate of respondents who use such shops once a year or less frequently stood at 9.7 pct, followed by about once in six months, at 8.6 pct, and around once in two to three months, at 8.0 pct.

Only 1.6 pct use rental DVD shops once a week and 0.6 pct twice or more a week.

The survey also showed that 47.9 pct of respondents said they do not go to movie theaters at all, compared with 47.5 pct in the previous survey in 2009.

The share of respondents who go to movie theaters once a year or less often stood at 20.2 pct, up from 18.9 pct, once in six months, at 15.5 pct, down from 16.2 pct, and once in two to three months, at 9.0 pct, down from 11.5 pct.

The interview-based opinion poll, conducted on Aug. 3-6, covered 1,991 people aged 18 or over across the country, except for part of Hiroshima Prefecture, western Japan, that was affected by the torrential rain last month. Of them, 61.8 pct gave valid answers. Jiji Press