Doing business in TV
Raymond van der Vliet, Content & Programming Director at VodafoneZiggo, grew up with TV and entertainment. “In the 1960s and 1970s, my dad sold the cables for the first television networks. He later became the first director of Sky Channel in Europe. When he started working for himself, he asked me to join him. Two years later we launched SBS6. I’ve spent my whole life doing these fantastic things; launching, doing business, making programmes.
Life is full of TV
Koen Cluistra really enjoys his work as Consumer Marketing Director at VodafoneZiggo. “That’s because we really have to deliver what we promise; make sure customers enjoy a great experience. Their questions are clear. 'What have you got to offer me? And what can I choose?' As a marketer, it’s easy for me to find answers, because we deliver something that is very real and essential. Our product directly affects people's daily lives, which is why we gave our campaign the title ‘life is full of TV’."
Ziggo is TV
What kind of TV experience does Ziggo offer at the moment? "Ziggo was TV in the Netherlands, and Ziggo is TV in the Netherlands," answers Koen enthusiastically. “We have by far the richest, most innovative TV product, with the widest range of entertainment. The Mediabox XL update has made popular TV features available to one million customers, so it represents a giant leap forward for viewers in the Netherlands. Linear TV, Netflix, Apple TV; our renewed TV platform offers an amazing array of content, wherever and whenever you want.”
"And the best tools to find your way around," adds Raymond, “such as voice control, which makes it really easy to find your favourite series and films. If you ask for Keanu Reeves, you’re instantly shown a list of every movie, series and TV show the actor has starred in, from Speed and Point Break to The Matrix. If you can’t stop binge-watching, you can continue viewing the series on another device in an instant. This all-encompassing experience is possible thanks to Ziggo Go. With this app you can watch TV on your laptop, iPad or mobile, whenever you want and wherever you want, throughout the EU. Nothing can beat Ziggo Go in the Netherlands. We also offer Ziggo Sport, our own channel full of unique sports content, with more and more programmes in 4K."
Where are we headed?
“We’ll be supplementing the production and creation of our own content with partnerships more often in the future," says Koen. “It’s all about making it easy for our customers to access their favourite entertainment, and less about who owns it. Ziggo will therefore offer a stage to a whole range of entertainment providers who are looking for a large audience. We’re the right company for this, not just because we have the largest customer base in the Netherlands, but also because of our stores, websites, and customer communications.
Exciting times
"Nobody knows exactly what the future holds," admits Raymond. “But these are very exciting times. You only have to look at the big players that appear in virtually no time. Mega mergers are the order of the day. Another media giant has just been announced, namely SkyShowtime, a partnership between Comcast and ViacomCBS, with the potential to dwarf Netflix. Next year, HBO Max and Warner will be coming to the Netherlands, as will NENT group with Formula 1. There’s a good chance that Disney will join our network. As a result, the public will have to shop around multiple providers, unless we bundle everything together for them. If we manage our role as central partner well, it will be a win-win-win situation for us, our partners, and our customers."
Raymond van der Vliet is Content & Programming Director at VodafoneZiggo. He has been active in the national and international media world for more than 25 years, including stints at National Geographic, FOX (Sport), and Eredivisie Media and Marketing.
Koen Cluistra is Consumer Marketing Director at VodafoneZiggo and has been active in various roles in the telecom sector for 20 years.