There were 2.8 million subscribers to the subscription TV service (STVS) in Portugal as at the end of 1st Quarter 2011 (1Q11), 30 thousand more subscribers than reported in the previous quarter and 207 thousand more subscribers than in the first quarter of 2010. The service's main growth drivers were, first of all, offers supported over optical fibre (FTTH/B) and, secondly, offers supported over the public switched telephone network (xDSL/IP) - together these offers made up about 99 percent of new customers (net) in 1Q11.
At the end of 1Q11, the number of subscribers to subscription TV over optical fibre (FTTH/B) was reported at 168 thousand, representing an increase of 17.3 percent over the previous quarter. Geographically, about 87 percent of subscribers were concentrated in the regions of the North and Lisbon.
Meanwhile, there were 538 thousand subscribers to subscription TV offers supported over the public telephone network (xDSL/IP) and fixed wireless access (FWA), representing an increase of 3 per percent over the previous quarter and of 22.9 percent over the same quarter of 2010.
Among the technologies supporting STVS, cable TV accounted for 50.9 percent of total subscribers, 0.9 percentage points less than in the previous quarter. The weight of "other technologies" (xDSL/IP and FWA) and FTTH/B increased together by about 1.2 percentage points, now representing 19.2 percent and 6.0 percent of the total, respectively. The weight of DTH fell to 23.9 percent of STVS subscribers.
According to information compiled by ANACOM, at the end of 2010, the number of households with bundled offers that included STVS exceeded 85 percent, with this type of offer driving growth of this service.
In terms of geographic distribution, cable TV is clearly dominant or in the majority in Lisbon, Madeira, the North and in the Algarve. In the Azores, the proportion of DTH and cable TV is very similar. In the Central region and the Alentejo, DTH predominates, and in the Alentejo the number of subscribers to "other technologies" is already very close to the number of DTH subscribers. It is noted that Lisbon, the North and Centre regions continue to account for more than 80 percent of STVS customers.
The penetration rate of subscription TV subscribers continued to increase in 1Q11, rising to 49 per 100 classic family households.
Grupo ZON/TV Cabo continued to have the largest share of subscription TV subscribers (56.7 percent). PT Comunicações (PTC) remains the second largest STVS operator with a 31.2 percent share of subscribers, increasing 1.3 percentage points over the previous quarter. The third largest operator remains Cabovisão, with a share of 9.2 percent.
Consult the statistical report:
- Subscription Television Service - 1st quarter 2011 https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=1094005
