Welho maintains cable customer base at 68 thousand

Thursday, May 7th, 2009

Sanoma (Helsinki:SAA1V) Group’s net sales decreased by 6.9% in the first quarter, totalling EUR 636.0 (683.1) million.

Sanoma Entertainment

Sanoma Entertainment offers entertaining experiences on television, radio, online and mobile. Sanoma Entertainment’s business units include Nelonen Media, which focuses on broadcast operations, and Welho, Finland’s largest cable television operator.

Net sales from other operations were behind the comparable period because Welho’s sales of set-top-boxes peaked in the first quarter of 2008 due to the digital switch-over. Welho’s broadband subscriptions continued to increase. In pay TV operations, Welho has moved to reporting the number of customers instead of the number of subscriptions. In line with the market development, Welho’s pay TV customer base remained at the comparable period’s level.

Operational indicators (thousands)

                                           31 March  31 March
                                               2009      2008
                                           --------  --------
Number of connected households                  324       320
Number of pay TV customers                       68        68
Number of broadband internet connections        107       101

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