European TV market worth €91.7bn
June 9, 2011
From Branislav Pekic in Rome
According to the 9th Annual Report from ITMedia Consulting, digital terrestrial television has supplanted satellite and is now the most popular digital TV platform in Europe.
Last year, 87 per cent of TV homes in Western Europe watched digital TV, with an annual growth of 29 per cent, while the homes with a digital receiver are close to 170 million.
The conversion to digital has been accelerated due to the switch off in Spain and significant switch over in France and Italy. Satellite is present in one third of digital homes and is no longer the most popular platform, being replaced by digital TV, present in over 37 per cent of households. Cable is responsible for 21 per cent of digital TV reception and is still far from a complete the analogue switch off.
In terms of revenue growth, following +0.9 per cent in 2008 and the daunting -3.1 per cent in 2009, the TV market in 2010 was worth €91.7 billion in revenues, an increase of 5.6 per cent. Advertising grew by 3.4 per cent, good, but still lower than before the financial crisis. Pay-TV continues to be the driving force for the sector – although double-digit growth is past history, the 9.6 per cent represents the best performance of the last three years.
The report also highlights that Europe constitutes the largest IPTV market in the world and the most dynamic, with a growth of 27 per cent in 2010, although lower than in previous years.
Multichannel is growing year after year, accounting for 45 per cent of total market revenues with an annual growth of 7 per cent.