Recent research shows that Dutch viewers are still sticking to the major broadcasters. “The top 20 stations account for nearly 90% of all viewing. This share increases rather than decreases,” said Paul van Niekerk, MD of SPOT. “There is no sign of the supposed fragmentation of television viewing.”
SPOT is the organisation for the promotion of advertising on television and is owned by the broadcasters, both public and commercial. “In many future scenarios on television it is assumed that the viewership will fragment,” added Van Niekerk. “The rapidly growing range of digital channels, the possibility of delayed viewing and distribution via the internet would lead to a fragmentation of the public spread across many suppliers. The behaviour of the public does not follow the widening of the offer to the same extent. The programming of the top 20 channels is so attractive that they take by far the largest share of the viewers. In 2000 they drew 87% of the viewing, in 2008 this will increase even further to 89% of all viewing time. ”
“We continue to be impressed by the emergence of the internet and digital channels. But they are developing alongside the existing television offerings. The attractiveness of the existing channels to the audience is so great that their share is growing rather than diminishing it. It is precisely in times of crisis, that the reliability of these channels for advertisers is greater than ever. “