Only 24 percent of Dutch people have downloaded video content such as films and series, music or games for free during the past year, according to the latest study from Telecompaper. In 2013, 41 percent did so regularly. Streaming video and music services such as Netflix and Spotify have grown strongly since then, while anti-piracy group Brein has become increasingly tougher on illegal downloads. Men still download a lot more than women.

According to Telecompaper’s Consumer Insights Panel, it seems that different download methods such as peer-to-peer (P2P) have fallen sharply in their use: 6 percent of the Dutch used this method in the past year, against 8 percent in 2016 and 18 percent in 2013. The use of newsgroups was unchanged at 6 percent in October 2017, while 2 percent of Dutch people suggest they have used a FTP server over the past year to download free content.

Tough approach to illegal content, affordable alternatives

The fact that the number of people downloading freely available content has gone down over the past few years should not be a surprise. Authorities are taking a tough approach to illegally offered content and there are more affordable alternatives offered with high quality content. For example, in April 2014, the European Court of Justice ruled that the Netherlands had to introduce a download ban. Brein’s tough approach is getting more successful.

Free, illegal downloading has also become less interesting because video content and music are increasingly becolming more affordable alternatives. For films, series and TV programmes, providers include Netflix, Videoland, NLZiet and Amazon. In the music field there is a range of services such as Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, Soundcloud and Pandora.

Paid content more easily available

There are many reasons why people are downloading less compared to the year before. For example, 12 percent indicate that it is now easier to get paid content. There seem to be enough people who want to pay for an alternative, provided that it is easier to use and offers good quality.

About 8 percent indicated that they download less because content was harder to find. In 2013, 4 percent indicated this as a reason. In itself, this is not surprising, given the growing approach to illegal uploading. Also, internet providers are blocking certain download sites. In November 2015, this was significantly less, at 1 percent.