RTL Nederland said that during the first quarter growth continued for it’s video on demand platform Videoland, bit failed to give exact subscriber numbers.
Videoland’s customer base grew by 40% with subscribers watching an average of 2.5 hours of series, films and documentaries per session, an increase of 30 minutes (2 hours in 2017).
Videoland said it is also better at reducing churn. The number of paying customers that do not renew their subscription after registration fell by 44% in the first quarter compared to the same period last year.
However, the SVOD platform still does not supply the actual number of paying subscribers. Last August, Telecompaper estimated the number to be around 300,000, while research from Multiscope suggested viewing time for Videoland lagged far behing Netflix, Youtube, Fox Aports and NPO Start. We estimate the current number of subscribers to Videoland to be around 500,000.
In a press release, Lucien Brouwer, CCO at RTL, said: “RTL is already the market leader on TV and our ambition is to grow fast as the number one local VOD player. Content from our own soil is important to our platform, because Videoland is 100% focused on the Dutch viewer. We prove that it works with Temptation Island, among other things. The programme is not only a great success on television, but also great online and on social. Therefore, from June onwards, we will be presenting our subscribers with an extra and absolutely high-profile season of Temptation Island, which can only be seen at Videoland. In addition, we have two formats in which seducers known from Temptation Island play a leading role, The Best Leaders and I Love You Tattoo. No one will have to go through this summer without their favourite guilty pleasures. Certainly not now that we can be seen all over the European Union from 1 April.”
Videoland also entered into a content collaboration with Vice for homegrown product with a diverse range of Vice documentaries.