Reminder: owned by Telenet Group, the Base brand has entered a new phase of its history on Monday June 3, 2024 with the launch of Base Internet and Base TV subscriptions. Tenant of the VOO/Orange fixed network in Wallonia and Brussels, the mobile operator is now simply an operator, which breaks the logic of the pack. Example: it is possible to subscribe for €10 per month to digital TV alone, to be consumed via the Base TV application and any Internet connection.
A freedom to choose, the antithesis of the pack
This is an atypical strategy in Belgium. And winner? From June to December 2024, Base recorded 26,500 sales of these products, in particular called for conquer Wallonia, a territory where Telenet Group was until now only present on mobile, with the exception of Hainaut.
“It’s a good figure, a commercial success which exceeds our expectations in a saturated market,” says Gérald Demortier, head of the Base brand within Telenet Group. “The pace of adoption of our new services is not slowing down. This means that this formula, which is the antithesis of the pack, responds to a real, concrete demand.”
Wallonia as a priority target
The optimism is such that the boss of the Base brand is counting on 26,500 additional sales by the end of 2025, to reach roughly 53,000 customers for the telecoms operator’s new subscriptions (Internet, TV). Among the levers potential: the portfolio of 850,000 Base mobile customers.
“It’s a surprise, one in two people who subscribe to our new products have not previously been a Base customer,” explains Gérald Demortier. “However, we thought that our installed base would be at the origin of 80% of the adoptions of our Internet connection and our digital TV. We will work on this specific point in 2025. We will also continue the effort on media campaigns , by investing more in Wallonia than in Flanders, to favor the territory where the Base brand benefits from the best potential.”
The promise not to increase prices in 2025
What do you give? developments expected in 2025? “The prices of Base Internet and Base TV will not change,” promises Gérald Demortier.
As for the specifications of the subscriptions, “our Internet offer, with a limited version and an unlimited version, is sufficient for the moment. It is clear that we have plans to go to optical fiber, but not in 2025. Fiber is not yet sufficiently deployed to compete with the coaxial cable of a hybrid fixed network.”
In the Base TV camp, 80% of subscribers opt for the version with a TV decoder, which must be associated with Base Internet. 20% prefer access exclusively via the application and Internet connection of their choice. Under these conditions, “we are negotiating to add relevant applications to our TV decoder,” explains Gérald Demortier. “We recently added that of RTL. We are in discussions with RTBF for Auvio.”
29 channels today, maybe more tomorrow
As a reminder, the French-speaking bouquet of the digital television service Base TV brought together 28 channels at launch, 29 today with the addition of the Fast TV RTL district channel.
“We are not stuck on a fixed number. Tomorrow perhaps, we will offer 30 or 31 channels. It all depends on the opportunities. A team is in constant discussions with the broadcasters. As soon as a new French-speaking channel is available on the market, we are studying the price and the potential interest for our TV customers.”
A significant effort on image quality
On June 3, 2024, the launch of Base TV had a very unpleasant surprise in store for customers of the French-speaking bouquet: image quality significantly behind the channels of the Dutch-speaking bouquet. In detail: 0 channels in 1920×1080 pixels, 18 in 1280×720 pixels, 10 in 1024×576 pixels.
The operator corrected the situation on June 19, 2024: 6 channels in 1920×1080 pixels, 17 channels in 1280×720 pixels, 5 channels in 1024×576 pixels.
The January 2025 analysis shows that Base has made new efforts: 22 channels in 1920×1080 pixels, 2 channels in 1280×720 pixels, 5 channels in 1024×576 pixels.
