Chellomedia’s Dutch premium channels Film1 and Sport1 have announced a 7% growth in subscriber numbers bringing the total to 490,000 for the year ended December 2011.
According to the broadcaster, “the growth in subscribers is mainly driven by innovation and commitment to add features to the Film1 service all of which are designed to enhance the experience for the movie subscriber. This includes the thematic rebranding of channels which allows clear signposts to the genre of the movie content, clear communication to new subscribers, and an on demand offering,“
Film1 subscribers continue to find their way to the VOD service. Compared to 2010, usage of the Film1 On Demand service increased by an average of over 30% per subscriber. Viewers request an average of five movies per month.
Most popular on-demand movie in 2011 was Gangsterboys. Family movies are the most requested titles with Up, Monsters vs Aliens and various Harry Potters titles being the most popular.
Film1 has also recently added a fifth channel to its portfolio, Film1 Series. In March, Film1 will add Sundance, the independent American movie channel (see separate story). The Sundance deal also means an increase of the number of available to VOD titles to an average of 250 per month.
The addition of Sundance and Film1 Series comes at the time, when the broadcaster will face new competition on the premium pay market with the arrival of three HBO channels on February 9.
Sport1 subscriptions also showed increases with the launch of a 24/7 golf and tennis channel in 2011. Sport1 plans to launch a channel dedicated to soccer in summer this year.
“Our results are built on our continued commitment to bring the best and distinctive programming to our viewers” said Jeroen Bergman, managing director of Chello Benelux, in a statement. “With the recent launch of Film1 Series, the addition of Sundance channel; and, with Sport1 increasingly offering a wider range of world-class sports events, we are confident that 2012 will be a good year.”
