As part of their agreement signed in December 2021, Proximus and DPG Media (parent company of VTM) are preparing to launch several new features for recordings and replay programs on VTM channels, the two companies announced on Thursday.
Banking on new models in order to support the production of local content, they will notably introduce, from April, one minute of compulsory before watching a program recorded on these channels.
“The habits of Belgian 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 deferred is putting 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.
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.
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,” says Proximus.
Its competitor Telenet, however, has already introduced an equivalent system.
DPG Media has also signed a similar agreement with Orange, a smaller player in digital television. Since last Monday, it is no longer possible to rewind advertisements during a recorded viewing, said Mr. Celis.