Digital Television Continues to Grow in Hungary

The Prevalence of Digital Television Continued to Grow in October

In October 2009, the number of households in Hungary using digital television topped the 1.1 million mark, states the flash report released by the National Communications Authority (Nemzeti Hírközlési Hatóság – NHH).

The flash report is based on data provided on a voluntary basis by Hungary’s 14 largest broadcasters and covers approximately 80 to 85 percent of the subscription television services market. According to NHH estimates and previous surveys, of the close to 3.8 million Hungarian households approximately 3 million subscribe to some sort of television service. The remaining nearly 800,000 households watch analogue and digital terrestrial broadcasts accessible through rooftop or room antennae or freely viewable satellite broadcasts.

At the end of October, the service providers featured in the flash report – Magyar Telekom Nyrt., Invitel Zrt., UPC Kft., FiberNet Zrt., DIGI Kft., PR TELEKOM Zrt., Zelka ZRt., TARR Kft., TvNetWork NyRt., ViDaNet Zrt., PARISAT Kft., RubiCom Zrt., Antenna Hungária Zrt. and HD Platform Kft. – registered a total of 2.481 million subscriptions, 22 thousand more than a month earlier. In October, the number of persons with a digital subscription with the featured 14 service providers rose by 26 thousand to 1.109 million, while the number of analogue subscriptions with the same providers dropped from 1.376 million to 1.372 million. In October, 44.7 per cent of subscribers of the service providers featured in the flash report used digital services, compared with September’s 44 per cent.

Within the sector of digital subscriptions, the number of persons subscribing to cable television or IPTV rose by 12 thousand to 359 thousand, while the number of people using satellite services increased by 14 thousand to 750 thousand. According to data from service providers featured in the flash report, in October the ratio of persons subscribing to digital cable television or IPTV within households holding subscriptions rose from 14.1 to 14.5 per cent, The percentage of persons with satellite subscriptions climbed from 29.9 to 30.2 per cent, while that of analogue cable television services dropped from 56.0 to 55.3 per cent.

The flash report comprehensively covers all satellite services, including the wireless service operated by Antenna Hungária (AH). In this sector, the number of subscribers rose from 736 thousand to 750 thousand in October. Market leader DIGI’s market share dropped from 53.3 to 52.6 per cent, that of UPC from 24.9 to 24.4 per cent, while Magyar Telecom upped its market share from 16.5 to 17.8 per cent.

In terms of the analogue and digital cable service market–cable television and IPTV–, the flash report covers 75 to 80 percent of the total number of subscriptions. In October, the number of cable subscriptions of the service providers featured in the report rose from 1723 thousand to 1731 thousand, specifically the number of analogue subscriptions dropped from 1.376 million to 1.372 million, while the number of digital subscriptions jumped from 347 thousand to 359 thousand. With respect to cable services, industry leader UPC’s market share fell from 35.8 to 35.4 per cent, that of runner-up Magyar Telekom rose from 21.2 to 21.3 per cent, while third-ranked DIGI upped its market share from 11.6 to 11.9 per cent.

Of the service providers included in the flash report–taking all services into account– UPC heads pack, however, its market share has decreased from 32.5 per cent in September to 32.1 per cent in October. Runner-up DIGI’s market share rose from 24.1 to 24.2 per cent, while third-ranked Magyar Telecom (T-Home) upped its market share from 19.8 to 20.3 per cent.

Number of digital television subscriptions (based on data from 14 service providers):

      Apr        May       June       July        Aug       Sept        Oct
---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------
  988,784  1,007,739  1,037,596  1,060,958  1,066,991  1,082,731  1,109,251

More: Flash report