The digital television service Proximus Picxk but also that of its sub-brand Scarlet are slowly but surely entering a phase of decline in Belgium.
Between the beginning of April and the end of December 2022, these two platforms lost 23,000 customers (-1.27%). In detail: -1,000 between the beginning of April and the end of June, -13,000 between the beginning of July and the end of September, -9,000 between the beginning of October and the end of December.
Size of the portfolio at the end of December 2022: 1,710,000 customers.
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The fault of the “cord-cutters”
It’s not bleeding yet but the slippery slope is noticeable.
In the line of sight: the phenomenon of “cord-cutting” and “cord-cutters”, these subscribers who cut the digital TV cord in favor of paid (Netflix, Disney +…) and free (YouTube, Auvio… ), illegal IPTV services…
“There is a structural trend in the market towards cord-cutting”, confirms Guillaume Boutin, CEO of Proximus. “Last year, I think we probably reached the peak of penetration of television services via traditional channels. We will start to see a gradual decrease in the number of TV customers that are provided by telecom operators. These customers, they therefore left for reasons of market structure. Young people in particular, but also the less young, decide to no longer subscribe to television services provided by operators. ”
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Market shares taken from Telenet and VOO
“Where have these customers gone? ”, asks Guillaume Boutin. “Not at Telenet or at VOO. What are the dynamics of the market today? We are gaining market share in the world of television. We take it from Telenet, we take it from VOO, thanks to fiber, thanks to our progress in the north of the country. When you look at the market figures, the decrease for Proximus is less than the decrease announced by other operators. ”
It is clear that Telenet’s digital television is losing its feathers much more seriously than that of Proximus.
-3.8% in twelve months at Telenet
Present in Flanders, Brussels and in the boot of Hainaut, the Flemish operator has let more than 10,000 TV customers slip away every quarter for two years.
In twelve months, Telenet TV has gone from 1,762,000 customers (end of December 2021) to 1,694,700 customers (end of December 2022). That’s a serious contraction of 3.8%.
To cushion the shock, Telenet intends to offer its fixed services (Internet, TV) in Wallonia on the VOO network once the takeover of the Walloon cable operator by Orange has been validated by the European Commission (end of March 2023?). Telenet and Orange have already signed an agreement to this effect.
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