Spain: Pay-TV revenues up 14%
May 14, 2018
Revenues from pay-TV in Spain increased by 14 per cent in 2017, according to Spain’s competition and markets watchdog, the Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia (CNMC). Pay-TV brought in €564 million with free-to air TV earning €560 million in the fourth quarter of 2017, according to the latest data available on the CNMCData portal. Traditionally, this fourth quarter is the highest income of the year as it coincides with Christmas campaigns.
By technology, IPTV (XDSL/FTTH) recorded a 13 per cent increase in revenue per subscriber compared to the fourth quarter of the previous year, with a turnover of €317 millions.
Advertising revenues, which include conventional advertising, sponsorships, telesales, tele-promotion and product placement, totalled €641 million (€104 million radio and €537 million TV). In the case of television, €24 million correspond to pay-TV and €513 million to free-to-air television. Within the FTA segment, private television channels obtained 95 per cent of the total advertising investment in television.
The two main television groups, Mediaset and Atresmedia, accounted for 83 per cent of television ad revenue.
The total of subscribers at the end of the fourth quarter of 2017 was 6.59 million, with an increase of some 183,000 subscribers compared with the previous quarter. IPTV and online TV services grew by some 193,000 and 35,000 subscribers, respectively. It should be noted that in the section of online TV, only data from operators based in Spain are included and does not include data from HBO, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, whose services depend on headquarters located abroad.
Nearly nine out of 10 pay-TV subscribers (5.85 million) had the service contracted under some form of bundle, almost 190,000 more than in the previous quarter.
The packet with the highest growth continued to be the five-play package (which combines pay-TV with the four telecommunications services: fixed telephony, mobile telephony, fixed broadband and mobile broadband) that reached a total of 5.5 million subscribers, one million more than the previous year.
The average television consumption during the quarter was 3 hours and 53 minutes per person per day (a total of 233 minutes). These data reflect an increase of 33 minutes in television viewing by viewer and day, with respect to the previous quarter that coincided with the summer months, and therefore were exceptionally low consumption.
By platform, television consumption, both FTA and paid, was shared by 77 per cent by DTT, 2.9 per cent satellite TV and 20 per cent by cable TV and IPTV platforms.
By group, Mediaset and Atresmedia lead, obtaining 27.5 and 27.2 points of audience share quarterly, respectively.
The two most watched channels during the quarter continued being the generalist channels Telecinco and Antena 3, with an audience share of 12.5 per cent and 11.9 per cent, respectively.
By age, between 18 and 64 years old, there was a tie in the majority option, with the two most watched channels being Mediaset and Atresmedia, both with 28.8 points.
In the population segment aged over 65 years, the audiences of the three main groups were: Mediaset (24 points), Atresmedia (26 points) and CRTVE (22.4). In fourth place was the channel 13TV (4.3 points).