Ziggo's triple-play market share in Holland under pressure

Ziggo’s share of triple-play market under pressure

HOUTEN, The Netherlands — Over 4.6 million Dutch households have triple-play subscriptions, taking three fixed services (broadband, TV, fixed telephony) from a single provider. Ziggo is the biggest player in the triple-play market, but its market share is under pressure, falling by 4 percent points over the past year. Consumers say the monthly costs are the most important reason to take a triple-play subscription, according to the research from Telecompaper. However, the reliability of the connection and the provider’s brand image are becoming more important.

A majority of Dutch households have triple-play (61%), equal to over 4.6 million households. Almost ten percent of them also have a mobile subscription from the same provider (quad-play). Triple-play is still increasing its share of the market; a year ago, its penetration was at 56% of households. Couples without children are one of the groups adopting triple-plays more, with 39 percent of households in this group having a triple-play in Q2 2015, up from 35 percent a year earlier. The figures come from the report ‘Triple Play Insights Q2 2015’ from Telecompaper, based on a survey of 10,000 Dutch consumers aged 12-80. The survey was conducted during the second quarter of 2015 by the Telecompaper Consumer Panel.

The report shows that more than half of the triple-play customers get their three fixed services from Ziggo. However, Ziggo’s share is declining, losing four percentage points in the past year. In contrast, the second most popular triple-play provider in the Netherlands KPN added three percent points over the same period and now holds almost a quarter of the market. The smaller triple-play providers also showed some gains, including Caiway, Delta and XS4ALL.

The monthly costs are the most important reason for consumers to purchase a triple-play package; four out of ten mentioned this as a reason. The reliability of the connection comes an increasingly close second with 31 percent. Also the good name of the provider is mentioned more often in the top 5 reasons to purchase a triple-play package, suggesting aspects other than price are becoming more important to consumers as triple-plays become more common.

The majority (80%) of subscribers said they don’t want to change anything about their triple-play subscriptions. Four percent would consider ending their fixed telephony subscription, in line with other data showing a decline in monthly use of the fixed line.

The report ‘Triple Play Insights Q2 2015’ provides extensive information on the triple-play market in the Netherlands, characteristics of the triple-play customer, purchase factors, sales channels, churn, usage, NPS, considered package changes, OTT services and apps used on smart TVs and household devices. Most results are shown for the following providers: Ziggo, KPN, Telfort, XS4ALL, Tele2, Online.nl and ZeelandNet (Delta). The full report is now available for EUR 4,025.