BERLIN, April 16 (Xinhua) -- In Germany, 70 percent of 18 to 34 year olds and 52 percent of Germans over the age of 35 said that they use at least one of the most popular online streaming platforms Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Sky Go & Select, ARD or ZDF Mediathek, according to a YouGov survey published on Tuesday.
Overall, Netflix has experienced the strongest growth out of all the streaming platforms among the group of young Germans.
In 2015, only around 3 percent of 18 to 34 year olds in Germany reported using Netflix at least once a week. By 2019, 33 percent of millennials in Germany were describing themselves as regular Netflix users.
"Netflix seems to be the first port of call for TV series" among millennials, with 82 percent saying they used the platform for streaming television shows, YouGov consultant Katharina Brachthaeuser told Xinhua on Tuesday.
Around 76 percent of Germans aged 18 to 34 used Amazon Prime Video "at least occasionally" for streaming TV shows, the YouGov survey showed.
German millennials used Netflix and Amazon Prime Video to roughly the same extent for streaming for films at 80 percent and 79 percent respectively.
The online media libraries of the German public broadcasters ARD and ZDF were mainly used by millennials for streaming documentaries.
"The main reason for using the media libraries, in addition to boredom or passing the time in between, is personal development," Brachthaeuser said.
In comparison, only 41 percent of millennials said they used Netflix for streaming documentaries.
The ZDF and ARD online media libraries were most popular among older Germans, used by 20 percent of those aged 35 and over, according to the survey.
In addition, Amazon Prime Video experienced strong growth among Germans over 35 years of age, with 20 percent describing themselves as regular users, compared with only 3 percent in 2015.
According to the YouGov survey, however, more than half of all Germans agreed that "there are simply too many streaming platforms" on offer.
"When looking into the already highly competitive market, the question arises: is there any room at all for new streaming providers such as Apple or Disney?" a YouGov researcher, Katharina Brachthaeuser, asked.
Both Apple and Disney have recently announced they will be starting their own streaming services in fall this year.
The YouGov survey showed that 61 percent of German millennials were "probably not" or "definitely not" planning to use the new Apple streaming service.
The global market for online streaming platforms continues to grow, with the market researcher IHS Markit estimating that 650 million customers worldwide will have subscribed to online video services by 2021. By comparison, there were only 290 million subscribers in 2016.
