IPTV subscribers up 31,641, satellite down 21,120 at BCE in 3Q 2021

MONTRÉAL — BCE Inc. (TSX: BCE) (NYSE: BCE) today reported results for the third quarter (Q3) of 2021.

Bell Wireline

Bell TV added 31,641 net new retail IPTV subscribers, up 68.0% from 18,837 in Q3 2020. This represents our best quarterly result in two years, reflecting the success of our multi-brand strategy, including standalone Fibe TV subscriptions and Fibe TV app streaming services, as well as more typical back-to-school student market activity and more live sporting programming this year. At the end of Q3, Bell served 1,853,250 retail IPTV subscribers, up 3.8% from last year.

Retail satellite TV net subscriber losses increased 10.4% to 21,120, due to lower gross activations compared to last year. Bell’s retail satellite TV customer base totalled 875,711 at the end of Q3, down 8.1% compared to last year.

Retail TV subscribers:

                                                TOTAL
                                                 2020      Q4 20      Q3 20      Q2 20      Q1 20
                                            ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------
Retail net subscriber (losses) activations   (33,859)        536      (296)   (15,544)   (18,555)
 IPTV                                          39,191     21,106     18,837    (3,604)      2,852
 Satellite                                   (73,050)   (20,570)   (19,133)   (11,940)   (21,407)
Total retail subscribers EOP*               2,738,605  2,738,605  2,738,069  2,738,365  2,753,909
 IPTV                                       1,806,373  1,806,373  1,785,267  1,766,430  1,770,034
 Satellite*                                   932,232    932,232    952,802    971,935    983,875

                                                  YTD
                                                 2021      Q4 21      Q3 21      Q2 21      Q1 21
                                            ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------
Retail net subscriber (losses) activations    (3,519)                10,521    (4,928)    (9,112)
 IPTV                                          46,877                31,641      4,540     10,696
 Satellite                                   (50,396)              (21,120)    (9,468)   (19,808)
Total retail subscribers EOP*               2,728,961             2,728,961  2,718,440  2,723,368
 IPTV                                       1,853,250             1,853,250  1,821,609  1,817,069
 Satellite*                                   875,711               875,711    896,831    906,299

* At the beginning of Q1 2021, we adjusted our satellite TV subscriber base to remove 6,125 non-revenue generating units.

Bell Media

Subscriber revenue was up 12.3% in Q3, driven by a 5% year-over-year increase in Crave subscribers. Digital revenue grew 32% due to rapid expansion of CTV’s AVOD product, continued scaling of the SAM TV media sales tool and continued Crave growth.