Netflix is on track to hit 10 million UK subscribers by the end of the year according to new research which also points to a growing dissatisfaction with traditional broadcast and pay-TV providers.

Data from ScreenThink, a syndicated market tracker from research and strategy consultancy MTM and based on survey of more than 3,000 UK online users aged 16+, has confirmed the growing importance of non-linear video services to viewers.

Nearly 25% of UK internet users overall – and 39% of 16-24-year-olds – claimed that video offerings such as Netflix and YouTube are the first services they turn to when looking for TV or video content.

The greater availability of low-cost, paid-for video services such as Netflix and Amazon’s Prime Video is also impacting consumer perceptions of value for money: 54% of UK pay-TV subscribers now believe that their TV service is overpriced, and one in four are thinking about cancelling their subscription.

MTM further cited research showing 1.1m consumers intend to subscribe to Netflix before the end of the year, a figure that, if realised, would take its total above 10 million.

That will require it to keep churn levels low, but since Netflix subscribers are amongst the most satisfied users in the UK, with 88% claiming to be satisfied, the figure seems quite achievable.

Additionally, the recent integration of Netflix into the Sky Q offer could support further growth for the SVOD service: MTM suggested that 200,000 current Sky Q users are looking to subscribe to Netflix by the end of 2018.

“The UK’s broadcasters and pay-TV providers remain in a strong position,” said Jon Watts, managing partner at MTM. “[They] have developed world-class OTT products – the BBC iPlayer, All4, the ITV Hub, My5 and Now TV – but we’re clearly seeing signs of significant shifts in consumer attitudes and perceptions of quality, in terms of content, value for money and innovation.”

WARC’s recent Global Ad Trends report on OTT video reported how advertiser-funded video on demand is growing faster than other paid media and will account for over a third of all OTT spend this year.

While consumers’ appetite for watching video content anywhere has been propelled by SVOD services such as Netflix, “it is AVOD platforms which present the opportunity for advertisers to marry rich consumer data with pinpoint targeting during engaging content,” noted James McDonald, data editor at WARC.

Sourced from MTM, additional content by WARC staff