BCE adds 42,190 TV subscribers in 4Q 2014

MONTREAL — BCE Inc. (TSX, NYSE: BCE), Canada’s largest communications company, today reported BCE and Bell fourth quarter (Q4) and annual 2014 results.

In Q4 2014, BCE (Bell Canada and Bell Aliant) added 42,190 TV subscribers, reflecting the addition of 76,074 net new IPTV customers. At the end of 2014, BCE served a total of 2,642,608 TV subscribers, up 6.2% (including 933,547 IPTV customers, an increase of 42%).

Bell Wireline

Bell Fibe TV added 58,371 net new customers this quarter, compared to 60,301 last year. Total BCE IPTV net additions in Q4 2014 were 76,074, up from 75,120 in Q4 2013. At the end of 2014, BCE served 933,547 IPTV subscribers, up 42.0% from the end of 2013.

The Bell Fibe TV footprint reached more than 5 million households at the end of 2014, compared to approximately 4.3 million at the end of 2013. Including Bell Aliant’s FibreOP service area, BCE’s total IPTV footprint now covers 6 million homes, up from 5.1 million at the end of 2013.

Satellite TV net customer losses increased to 33,934 in Q4 2014 from 24,112 last year. This was the result of fewer retail activations due to aggressive cable TV offers in Bell service areas where Fibe TV is not available, and lower wholesale activations reflecting the expanded roll-out of IPTV service by competing providers in Western and Atlantic Canada.

Bell TV’s subscriber base (Bell Satellite TV and Fibe TV) totalled 2,376,885 at the end of 2014, a 4.3% increase over 2013. Including Bell Aliant, BCE now serves 2,642,608 TV customers, up 6.2%.

Bell Wireline – Bell Satellite TV and Fibe TV Customer Connections

                                Q4 14      Q3 14      Q2 14      Q1 14
                            ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------
Total subscribers           2,376,885  2,352,448  2,327,954  2,306,994
  Satellite                 1,676,352  1,710,286  1,747,311  1,772,884
  Fibe TV                     700,533    642,162    580,643    534,110
Net subscriber activations     24,437     24,494     20,960     28,561
  Satellite                   -33,934    -37,025    -25,573    -26,119
  Fibe TV                      58,371     61,519     46,533     54,680

                                Q4 13      Q3 13      Q2 13      Q1 13
                            ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------
Total subscribers           2,278,433  2,242,244  2,195,559  2,169,954
  Satellite                 1,799,003  1,823,115  1,849,243  1,874,193
  Fibe TV                     479,430    419,129    346,316    295,761
Net subscriber activations     36,189     46,685     25,605     13,971
  Satellite                   -24,112    -26,128    -24,950    -33,492
  Fibe TV                      60,301     72,813     50,555     47,463

Bell Wireline + Bell Aliant – TV Customer Connections

                                             Q4 14      Q3 14      Q2 14      Q1 14
                                         ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------
Total Connections          
  TV (Satellite and IPTV subscribers)    2,642,608  2,600,418  2,562,840  2,529,471
  IPTV                                     933,547    857,473    783,023    723,891
Net activations
  TV (Satellite and IPTV subscribers)       42,190     37,578     33,369     40,223
  IPTV                                      76,074     74,450     59,132     66,378

                                             Q4 13      Q3 13      Q2 13      Q1 13
                                         ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------
Total Connections                               
  TV (Satellite and IPTV subscribers)    2,489,248  2,438,100  2,377,021  2,340,201
  IPTV                                     657,513    582,393    495,038    433,031 
Net activations
  TV (Satellite and IPTV subscribers)       51,148     61,079     36,820     28,136
  IPTV                                      75,120     87,355     62,007     61,713

Bell Media

Bell Media launched Crave TV, its new on-demand TV streaming service, on December 11, 2014. Offering the largest collection of premium content in one place with thousands of hours of programming and approximately 350 unique titles of popular series and movies, CraveTV is now distributed by Bell TV, Bell Aliant, Eastlink, Northwestel and TELUS.