Quarter of Netherlands stream films, music; piracy down

A quarter of the Dutch population uses streaming services for movies and music according to a new study published by market research institute GfK. Among 13- to 17-year-olds, 54 percent stream media services, up from 38 percent last year.

Both Netflix and Spotify have expanded their competitive advantage in the Netherlands, although the exact numbers of users of the two services is unclear. In paid streaming, GfK found that the majority of people pay for music on their mobile phone, and listen to music 11 hours a week, almost twice as much as those using free services.

The most popular way to stream digital video remains via television screen, as users turn to ‘Pay per piece' services for consumption. Pathé Home also remains popular for paid download. GfK has reported that illegal downloading has decreased by five percent across the industry.