IPTV and fibre rollouts boost Portuguese pay-TV

Portuguese pay-TV subscribers grew to about 2.7 million at the end of the second quarter, up 54,000 on the previous three months and up 279,000 year-on-year, according to figures compiled by telecommunications regulator Anacom.

The main factors behind the growth were a surge in IPTV numbers, including services delivered over fibre networks, which totalled 470,000 TV subscribers by the end of June (up 32,000 on the previous quarter), including 84,000 fibre customers.

About 46% of Portuguese households now take some kind of pay-TV service, according to Anacom. Cable has the lion’s share at 54%, although the number of cable subscribers fell by 0.5% during the quarter, while DTH represents 25%, with a 0.5% increase in subscribers in the second quarter. Digital cable continues to grow strongly, with 965,000 subscribers. Zon Multimédia is the leading pay-TV player, with 60.8% of the market, followed by Portugal Telecom with 26.5% and Cabovisão with 10%. Pay-TV revenues in the first half of the year amounted to €335m, up 3.5% year-on-year.