Pay TV subscribers in Portugal up 0.9% in 3Q 2012

According to Portugal’s Autoridade Nacional de Comunicações (ANACOM), there were 3.11 million subscribers to subscription TV as at the end of the 3rd Quarter 2012 (3Q2012), 27 thousand (0.9 percent) more than in the previous quarter, and an extra 241 thousand (8.4 percent) over the same period in 2011.

At the end of September, cable TV represented 46.9 percent of total subscribers, while DTH comprised 21.6 percent, and xDSL comprised 19.5 percent. Optical fibre (FTTH/B) stood for 11.9 percent of all subscribers.

The total number of cable television service subscribers – around 1.46 million – was about 12 thousand down on the previous quarter (-0.8 percent). The number of DTH subscribers stood at 671 thousand, 2 thousand (0.3 percent) more than in the previous quarter, and 15 thousand more than at 3Q2011 (2.4 percent). The number of subscribers to subscription TV via optical fibre (FTTH/B) increased by 8.5 percent, reaching a total of 370 thousand.

Subscription television service subscribers by technology (Units: 1000 subscribers; %)

                                                                                 Quarterly     Annual
                                 11Q1   11Q2   11Q3   11Q4   12Q1   12Q2   12Q3  variation  variation
                                -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  ---------  ---------
Cable                           1,418  1,419  1,422  1,438  1,466  1,470  1,459      -0.8%       2.6%
DTH                               639    644    655    667    672    668    671       0.3%       2.4%
FTTH                              168    192    222    263    307    341    370       8.5%      67.0%
Other technologies (xDSL, FWA)    538    551    568    567    587    599    607       1.3%       7.0%
Total                           2,764  2,806  2,866  2,936  3,032  3,079  3,107       0.9%       8.4%

Source: ICP-ANACOM

The ZON/TV Cabo Group continues to have the largest share of subscription TV subscribers (50.6 percent). PT Comunicações (PTC) and Cabovisão follow with shares of 38.6 percent and 8.1 percent, respectively.

Shares of subscription TV subscribers (Units: %)

                            12Q1   12Q2   12Q3
                           -----  -----  -----
Grupo ZON/TV Cabo          52.2%  51.4%  50.6%
  ZON TV Cabo Portugal     48.6%  47.9%  47.1%
  ZON TV Cabo Açoreana      1.6%   1.5%   1.5%
  ZON TV Cabo Madeirense    2.0%   2.0%   2.0%
PT Comunicações            36.6%  37.6%  38.6%
Cabovisão                   8.5%   8.3%   8.1%                
Vodafone                    1.3%   1.3%   1.4%        
Optimus                     1.2%   1.2%   1.2%
Other providers             0.1%   0.2%   0.2%

Source: ICP-ANACOM