Dutch digital TV connections rise 5.4%, 4 million mark in sight

HOUTEN, The Netherlands — The total number of Dutch TV connections were up 0.5 percent during the third quarter to reach 7.72 million by 30 September, while the number of digital TV connections rose 5.4 percent, or 195,700 net additions, to 3.82 million, increasing its share of the entire TV market to 49.5 percent, according to Telecompaper’s quarterly report on the Dutch TV connections market. The 4 millionth digital TV connection in the Netherlands will be activated sometime during December, with the total number of digital TV connections at 4.05 million at the end of the year.

On the digital TV market, Ziggo is the largest provider, adding 83,000 customers during the third quarter, and with 1.078 million digital TV customers. Canal Digitaal’s digital TV market share dropped to 20.3 percent, while KPN continued to grow, ending the quarter with 700,000 digital TV customers, equal to a market share of 18.3 percent. UPC saw its shares of the total TV market and digital TV market decrease to 26.8 percent and 16.2 percent respectively. The number of digital TV customers grew by 28,100 to 620,200 at the end of September.

The TV connection penetration (TV subscriptions divided by the number of residential households as reported by the Dutch statistics office CBS) rose to 106.6 percent at the end of the quarter from 106.2 percent at the end of the third quarter last year. The penetration of digital TV on the Dutch cable networks continued to grow, with 33.2 percent at the end of the third quarter compared with 24.2 percent during the same period last year.

“The Dutch digital TV market’s quarterly growth will reach 6 percent during the remaining quarter of 2008, 1 percent lower than our forecast three months ago,” according to Telecompaper’s Senior Analyst Kamiel Albrecht, who added that “the slowdown is caused by the economic slowdown in the Netherlands and will see the quarterly growth for digital TV fall slightly in 2009 to between 4 and 5 percent.”