According to research by Telecompaper, viewers in the Netherlands would prefer to switch to TV over the Internet if the main public and commercial channels were available via apps on their smart TVs. Some 60% would cancel their RTL pay-TV plans and some 57% would cancel their NPO public channels if apps were available. For the SBS channels, those that would cancel if apps were available numbered 53%.
The survey, which was conducted in September 2016, found that the percentages were up slightly from a similar survey a year earlier, when SBS was at 51%, RTL at 59% and NPO at 55% of subscribers that would cancel their subscriptions.
Whilst the NPO channels are available via an app on a smart TV, the RTL and SBS channels are not, currently, although, the broadcasters’ joint VoD platform NLZiet, is currently considering making these channels available as apps.
Whilst there was high demand for smart TV apps for the main channels, demand for the apps for the second-tier channels was much lower. Discovery channel, Animal Planet and National Geographic came in at 35%, Eurosport and Ziggo Sport were 21%, and other channels less than 20%.
