Dutch incumbent KPN has signed a distribution agreement with HBO to carry the three premium channels.
The HBO channels, including On Demand and HBO Go are expected to become available to KPN IPTV subscribers in the coming months. KPN is the first platform to announce the launch of the HBO channels after the service launched on Ziggo, the Dutch cable operator who is a partner in the venture.
The announcement was made during the presentation of the company’s Q1 results.
KPN’s broadband market share continues to be under pressure, but its IPTV service Interactieve Televisie showed a growth of 79,000 homes during Q1. The net gain of TV subs is 53,000 subs due to a churn of 26.000 Digitenne (DTT) homes.
KPN’s IPTV product now has 652,000 customers, while the total for DTT homes is 801,000. The total number of TV homes now stands at 1.45 million, resulting in a TV market share of 18%.
The TV ARPU increased by 9.1% year-on-year to €12 in Q1 due to higher share of IPTV and customer demand for more value added services (e.g. premium channels, multi-room IPTV).
In Q1, KPN introduced a “smaller, faster and eco-friendly set-top box and a new user interface allowing for faster zapping.”
