Important changes are currently taking place in Hungary’s electronic communications marketplace.
Earlier this week the regulator NMHH released figures on the growing popularity of streaming services. As of last year, these were watched in no fewer than 44% of homes, with almost one in three (30%) opting for Netflix, followed by 21% HBO Max and 14% Disney+. The growth in Netflix’s viewership was particularly impressive, with the figure increasing five-fold between 2019-2022.
NMHH also made the point that Amazon Prime was not as popular as its competitors, seemingly due its lack of localised content.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the regulator in addition said that a mostly younger and affluent demographic opt for streaming services. While just over half (54%) of households where the head is aged between 30-39 do so, the figure falls to 19% when they are over 60.
Alongside the growing popularity of streaming services has come a decline in pay-TV subscriptions. According to NMHH, this has been particularly noticeable in the last couple of years, prior to which the total had been relatively stable at around 3.7 million. Indeed, it fell by some 5%, or 175,000, between mid-2021 and the middle of this year. All told, between 20,000-30,000 households each quarter now decide they no longer have a need for traditional TV.
Also earlier this week, Magyar Telekom and the Hungarian government signed an MoU on strengthening their cooperation for the country’s digital transformation. Almost as a footnote, but in fact highly significantly, it was at the same announced that the Hungarian government plans to scrap a supplementary telecom tax in January 2025. Prior to this, it will abolish the utility tax payment obligation of electronic telecommunications providers from the beginning of next year.
It’s not often that you see a government take such measures – usually they are keen to impose taxes on the industry – and in Hungary’s case probably indicates an interesting change in policy.
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