HD+ records more than 750,000 paying households for the first time

Wednesday, October 31st, 2012
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  • Two million households are in the twelve month free trial period
  • Number of active HD+ households increases to 2.8 million
  • Wilfried Urner: “Three years after its launch, HD+ has become a permanent major player in the German television market”

UNTERFÖRING — Almost three years after its launch, HD PLUS GmbH (Paris:SESG)(LuxX:SESG) reports very strong performance, demonstrated in its figures for the current quarter. At the end of September, the company had more than three quarters of a million paying HD+ households (761,456 on September 30, 2012). HD+ gained over 127,000 new customers from July to September this year. Growth during these three months exceeded the increase of 121,000 witnessed during the second quarter of the year, setting a new record for the company. Compared with this time last year, HD+ has almost tripled its customer base (267,289 on September 30, 2011).

The number of potential future customers has also risen dramatically. The number of HD+ households taking advantage of the free twelve-month trial period surged to 2,039,175 – a 23 percent increase on the 1,662,235 households the company reported on September 30, 2011. Overall, the number of active HD+ households – a figure including paying households and those in the free trial period – rose by 45 percent to 2,800,631 in the twelve months between September 2011 and September 2012. HD+ is expecting these figures to continue to increase in the fourth quarter. With the potential for new subscribers among those households whose trial periods will end in the coming weeks, HD+ continues to expect to reach one million paying households before 31 December 2012.

Wilfried Urner, CEO of HD PLUS GmbH, said: “Just three years after its launch in November 2009, HD+ has become a permanent major player in the German television market. The record figures in the third quarter underline this development, and the momentum HD+ has built is expected to continue in the long term. HDTV will remain a major growth factor across the entire television sector for many years to come.” Urner believes that HD reception via satellite is particularly set to benefit from these developments: “HD reception via satellite offers households the best possible combination of variety, quality and price.” Urner is particularly delighted that HDTV continued to gain in significance during the third quarter, following the analogue switch-off earlier this year. “HD set-top boxes now make up over 50 percent of all satellite set-top boxes sold. In September, HD+ and Sky HD set-top boxes, which can also receive HD+, represented a record 70 percent of all satellite HD set-top boxes sold.”

Three years after its launch on November 1, 2009, HD+ allows households across Germany to receive 14 free TV channels in HD quality exclusively via the ASTRA satellite system. Customers with an HD+ set-top box can get another 18 HD channels at no extra charge (see: About HD+). HD+ is the exclusive provider of the following 14 satellite channels in Germany: RTL HD, Sat.1 HD, ProSieben HD, VOX HD, kabel eins HD, RTL II HD, SUPER RTL HD, N24 HD, TELE 5 HD, SPORT1 HD, DMAX HD, Nickelodeon HD, sixx HD and COMEDY CENTRAL HD.

Key HD+ figures for Q3 2012 compared with Q3 2011

                                                        30 Sep. 2012  30 Sep. 2011    Change
                                                        ------------  ------------  --------
Active HD+ households(1)                                   2,800,631     1,929,524  +871,107
Of those, households still using HD+ free of charge(2)     2,039,175     1,662,235  +376,940
Of those, households that are HD+ customers(3)               761,456       267,289  +494,167

Key HD+ figures for Q3 2012 compared with Q2 2012

                                                        30 Sep. 2012  30 June 2012    Change
                                                        ------------  ------------  --------
Active HD+ households(1)                                   2,800,631     2,622,153  +178,478
Of those, households still using HD+ free of charge(2)     2,039,175     1,987,863   +51,312
Of those, households that are HD+ customers(3)               761,456       634,290  +127,166

1. Households currently receiving HD+ channels
2. Households in the initial twelve-month trial period
3. Households paying the annual €50 service charge

Source: These data are derived from analyses by GfK, which are based on data provided by HD PLUS GmbH and its partners.