National Communications Authority of Hungary publishes TV report to November 2009

Interest in Digital Television Programming Rose Slightly in November

In November 2009, the number of households with digital television subscriptions in the network of Hungary’s fourteen largest broadcasters rose to 1,118,000, an increase of nearly 10,000, 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, out of nearly 3,800,000 Hungarian households approximately 3,000,000 subscribe to some kind of television service. The remaining nearly 800,000 households watch analogue and digital terrestrial broadcasts accessible through rooftop or room antennae or satellite broadcasts viewable free of charge.

At the end of November, 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. – had a total of 2,472,000 subscriptions on record, 9,000 fewer than a month earlier.

In November, the number of digital subscriptions with the featured 14 service providers rose from 1,109,000 to 1,118,000, while the number of analogue subscriptions with the same providers dropped from 1,372,000 to 1,354,000. In November, 45.2 percent of subscribers of the service providers featured in the flash report used digital services, compared with October’s 44.7 percent.

Within the sector of digital subscriptions, the number of subscribers to cable television or IPTV rose from 359,000 to 374,000, while the number of satellite service subscribers dropped by 6000, to 744,000. According to data from service providers featured in the flash report, in November the share of subscriptions to digital cable television or IPTV within households holding subscriptions rose from 14.5 to 15.1 percent. The percentage share of satellite subscriptions dropped from 30.2 to 30.1 percent, while the share of analogue cable television subscriptions declined from 55.3 to 54.8 percent.

The flash report comprehensively covers all satellite services, including the wireless service operated by Antenna Hungária (AH). In this sector, market leader DIGI’s market share dropped from 52.6 to 51.1 percent, the share of UPC rose from 24.4 to 24.6 percent, while Magyar Telecom upped its market share from 17.8 to 19.1 percent.

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 November, the number of cable subscriptions with the service providers featured in the report decreased from 1,731,000 to 1,728,000, with the number of analogue subscriptions down from 1,372,000 to 1,354,000, while the number of digital subscriptions rose from 359,000 to 374,000. As for cable services, market leader UPC’s share fell from 35.4 to 35.3 percent, the share of runner-up Magyar Telekom rose from 21.3 to 21.6 percent, while third-ranked DIGI upped its market share from 11.9 to 12.1 percent.

Of the service providers covered by the flash report, considering all service types, UPC heads pack, with a 32.1 percent market share in November, the same figure as in October. Runner-up DIGI’s market share dropped from 24.2 to 23.9 percent, while third-ranked Magyar Telecom (T-Home) upped its market share from 20.3 to 20.8 percent.

More: Flash Report