Do you, as a Ziggo customer, also have a TV subscription with recording functions? Then there may be bad news to report. The provider has recently started showing mandatory advertising when watching RTL recordings. Before starting the recording, the viewer must watch a non-skippable commercial before the program starts.
Last spring, Ziggo ran a trial where customers were presented with mandatory advertising at the start of an RTL recording. At the time, the provider already received a lot of criticism from its customers, but despite the commotion, Ziggo decided to implement its policy.
Ziggo shows mandatory advertising during recordings
When you take out a TV subscription with recording function at Ziggo, you have the possibility to record programs and watch them later. The advantage of this is that you can fast forward the commercials. This is still the case, but Ziggo has a new policy for RTL recordings.
Before you can start recording, the viewer is obliged to watch a 1-minute commercial. You cannot fast forward through these commercials. After that, the recording will be played and you can fast forward through the commercials during the program.
The policy currently only applies to programs from RTL Nederland channels and can be seen in recordings made on a Mediabox Next, Mediabox XL and Next Mini. Ziggo can show these components at the start because the recordings are now stored in the cloud. This way they can easily show an advertisement before the stream is started.
At the moment, the mandatory advertising is only visible during RTL recordings and this may be expanded in the future. It is a lucrative additional source of income.
Watch again via the TV guide
It is good to know that it has always been the case that Ziggo, but also other providers such as KPN or NLziet, show commercials with the programs of RTL and SBS when you watch them back via the interactive TV guide. Then it is not possible to fast forward the commercial blocks. With recordings this is possible.
Ziggo customers switch
Ziggo customers are of course not happy with this state of affairs and complain en masse on the provider’s forum. Many customers now want to switch to another TV service or provider.
Other providers, such as NLziet, KPN, ODIDO or Onlinedo not have similar plans to watch commercials at the start of recordings. Below we list some alternatives if you want to switch.
- NLziet: watch Dutch TV for a fixed amount per month
- KPN: various subscriptions including internet + TV and fiber optic
- ODIDO: New and familiar with internet, TV and calling
- Online: Internet, TV and landline telephone for a competitive price