Europe Cable revenue up 7%
June 28, 2016
From Nick Snow @ Cable Congress
The cable industry is growing, with total revenues up 7.1 per cent year on year based on IHS statistics released by Cable Europe at the annual Cable Congress in Warsaw. Growth is considerable across all cable services: Internet via broadband (10 per cent), TV (5.5 per cent) and telephony (7 per cent). Television continues to be the main source of profit for the industry, accounting for 50 per cent of the €22.9 billion of revenue. Internet represents 31 per cent of the industry’s income, up eleven percentage points compared to a decade ago.
The revenue growth for TV services is driven by a strong appetite for digital subscriptions and VoD. 61.2 per cent of TV subscribers are now digital, and generate 77 per cent of TV revenue. With 21 million homes still analogue, the sector has clear potential to continue growing in the future.
More than 4.2 million Revenue Generating Units (RGUs), the industry metric for the total sum of TV, internet and telephony subscriptions, were added in 2015, now totalling 117.4 million. Internet and telephony are increasingly relevant, contributing to 51.9 per cent of total RGUs.
Manuel Kohnstamm, President of Cable Europe, commented: “The figures show cable is performing strongly despite – and possibly thanks to – the challenging competition with traditional and over-the-top players. Our industry is best in class when it comes to combining variety of offer, quality of content and user interface. Investment in our networks and our dedication to great consumer experience have been the foundations of this success. And in the future, Europe will continue to be a vibrant market so cable must continue to facilitate development in related industries. It’s no longer just about being the hero of our own story. Now, it’s about the opportunity to become the hero of everyone else’s story too.”
Cable Europe Executive Chairman Matthias Kurth added: “There is huge potential for our industry in the future, and we will continue to step up to the challenge. The increasing appetite for connectivity is a great opportunity for us. Our networks are clearly on track to be the backbone of the gigasphere society. We are best placed to enable this transformation because of heavy investment in our networks and our focus on innovation. The cable industry has the ambition and the ability to drive future technology growth.”