Telenet sees triple-play and SVoD boost

Liberty Global-owned Belgian cable operator Telenet saw its triple-play base edge closer to half its total subscriber count at the end of last year, and also recorded strong growth for its recently launched subscription video-on-demand offering and sports channel.

Telenet’s triple-play base was boosted by the launch of new offerings Whop and Whoppa in June last year. The company saw 35,600 net additions to triple-play in the quarter to December, taking its total to 46% of its overall subscriber base, 88% more net additions than for the comparable period in 2012. Telenet had 2,092,500 unique customers with 4,622,400 services at the end of December, representing a 3% year-on-year increase in revenue generating units.

ARPU excluding mobile for the full year was up 4% to €47.60, while ARPU in the fourth quarter reached €48.70, up 3% on the comparable period.

Broadband customers were up 6% and now number 1,494,900 – 50.6% of Telenet’s overall base.

Telenet’s Rex and Rio multiscreen SVoD offerings, launched in September, had attracted 67,000 customers by the end of December. However, overall net adds to digital TV were down year-on-year due to a significant reshuffling of the analogue service in 2012.

Telenet’s pay TV sports channel Sporting Telenet meanwhile had attracted  205,000 customers by the end of December. With the company’s deal with the football Pro League due to expire in June, Telenet is currently exploring options for a non-exclusive contract.

Telenet posted revenues of €1,641.3 million for the full year, up 10%, driven by growth in its mobile offering – mobile post-paid customers increased by 37,600 in the fourth quarter – as well as its fixed network services. EBITDA for the full year was €842.6 million, up 8%.