Leading Dutch operator KPN axed its pay monthly TV app KPN Play due to a lack of consumer demand.

In a statement, the operator said the service will end on 2 July and customers would not be charged for the last month, adding: “We have seen that demand in the market has been insufficient for this new way of watching TV.”

“KPN has learned a great deal from the product and its users, and uses this knowledge for other products,” the company noted.

The app launched in 2015, allowing users to watch live and catch-up TV on smartphones or tablets, along with TV sets equipped with a streaming device. At launch the operator hailed the service as: “the answer to new viewing behaviour”.

KPN did not provide updates on its progress, but given the tone of its latest statement it appears the service was unable to keep pace with big-name rivals.

Figures from GfK showed a third of the country’s adult population had access to a Netflix account in February, with over half of the 13 to 34 year-old age group logging onto the streaming company’s website or app.

KPN will continue to offer streaming services through its KPN interactive TV application, which is part of its wider pay-TV proposition and is only available as part of an annual contract. At the end of 2017, the company said it held a 32 per cent share of the total pay-TV market in the Netherlands – comprising both digital and analogue services.

Earlier in 2018, T-Mobile Netherlands announced its mobile TV app Knippr would cease operation today (1 June).