“The habits of Belgian television viewers have changed radically in recent years. While the consumption of content has never been as important as it is today, the gradual abandonment of linear in favor of time-shifted puts pressure on current models in the local media landscape”, justify the telecom operator and the media group.
In this context, the local media sector is increasingly calling for a rethinking of existing models.
personalized ads
Concretely, the reading of programs recorded on VTM channels will soon be preceded, on certain TV Boxes, by one minute of compulsory . Subject to the customer’s consent, these spots will be personalized in order to be better suited to their interests. In the rest of the program, including commercial breaks, fast forwarding will remain possible.
In addition, the two companies have agreed to exchange more precise information on the start and end times of the programs, so that the recordings can start when the show begins. Viewers will therefore no longer have to search for the program start credits themselves and will be able to watch the chosen program immediately, just following the one minute of mandatory .
RTL channels soon affected?
These changes will first be implemented on the latest generation of TV Boxes from April. Older models will follow later. “The VTM channels are the first to launch this new model. Discussions are also underway with other media groups”, specifies Proximus. Note that DPG Media recently acquired RTL Belgium: it is therefore not impossible that this functionality will arrive very soon on the French-speaking side, on the group’s channels (RTL-TVI, Club RTL, Plug RTL), even if no communication has been made in this direction for the moment.
Le concur de Neximus, Telenet has already introduced an equivalent system.
DPG Media also reports that it has also signed a similar agreement with Orange, a more modest player in digital television.
