BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - According to a study, the new regulations for cable TV billing due to come into force in July will probably result in a massive migration of customers to other TV transmission channels. In the latest "Screens in Motion" survey conducted by Burda Verlag, almost 2,000 people were asked whether they could imagine doing without "traditional", sometimes fee-based TV transmission channels and replacing them with streaming services or apps on their smart TV: 40 percent answered yes this year. In the previous year, the figure was 31%. In 2022, 33% answered yes in the representative online study.

"This proportion has risen sharply this year," said Marion Sperlich, head of the "Screens in Motion" study, to the German Press Agency in Berlin. Sperlich is also Head of Research Market Media Insights at Burda Verlag. "And the number of viewers who already have concrete intentions has also risen from 11% to 14% in one year," explained the expert. "We conducted the survey in March, and the willingness to switch should have increased further since then. In previous years, this was just lip service." The number of people willing to switch had therefore remained at the same level for a long time, but these people had not done so. "Now something is happening."

According to Sperlich, this development goes hand in hand with the fact that people are increasingly watching and accessing content online. "If we look at device usage over the last few years, we can see that smart TV is now absolutely mainstream. 71% of households own a smart TV set. This year, we have recorded a further increase of 7 percentage points compared to the previous year. So people are well prepared. Of course, the corresponding sticks or receivers can also be used."

There has been movement in the TV market in recent weeks. The background to this is the abolition of the so-called ancillary cost privilege in July 2024. Landlords in Germany will then no longer be able to pass on the fees for cable TV to their tenants via the ancillary costs. However, this also means that the often common form of television in apartment buildings will no longer be automatically available.

From the summer, tenants will have a completely free choice of reception method. They can then either conclude an individual contract with a cable TV provider or opt for satellite, aerial or internet-based television in future./bok/DP/he