Dutch incumbent telecom operator KPN has seen a rise in the number of IPTV and broadband customers, but its Q3 revenues fall 2.6%, but profits are higher.
KPN added 55,000 IPTV customers, 33,000 broadband subscribers and 50,000 triple-play users during the quarter. Triple-play penetration rose to 55% of broadband customers, from 48% a year ago. Customers on the KPN Compleet offer of fixed and mobile services increased to 669,000, equal to 23% of broadband customers versus 14% a year ago. KPN said it also increased the availability of 100 Mbps broadband to 61% of households. KPN claims a 28% market share in the Dutch digital TV consumer market.
Meanwhile, KPN’s DTT service Digitenne continues to lose subscribers: the service lost 22,000 home during the quarter, bringing the total number of “other TV subscribers” to 404,000. This number also includes fibre customers.
In the third quarter, KPN integrated a large number of OTT apps, including YouTube, within its IPTV platform. Furthermore, KPN announced that Netflix will be made accessible to its customers via IPTV. By embracing OTT, KPN aims to further improve customer experience.
During the presentation KPN said that around 50% of its internet traffic is streaming video, with YouTube taking 25% (up from 23% during Q3, 2014), Netflix 20% (up from 12%) and other streaming taken 5% (unchanged).
While gaining with residential customers, weakness in the business market pushed group revenues 2.6% lower to €1.76 billion. The ongoing cost reductions at the Dutch operator led to a 4.6% rise in adjusted EBITDA to € million. Operating profit was up 5.7% to €204 million, and the net result moved to a profit of €87 million versus a loss of €75 million a year ago.
