Telenet spurred by triple-play gains

Belgian cable operator Telenet reported “solid net triple-play growth” in the first quarter and recorded 57,100 net subscriber additions to its digital TV, broadband internet and fixed telephony services.

The Liberty Global-backed operator said that it attracted 24,100 net triple-play subscribers, the best first quarter performance since 2009 “despite the intensely competitive environment.”

Triple-play growth was up 32% year-on-year, resulting in 47% of customers now subscribing to triple-play, it said.

In terms of television customers alone, digital cable TV subscribers increased by 5% year-on-year to 1.509 million but analogue cable TV subscribers decreased 15% to 573,300. This meant that Telenet’s total cable TV subscriber base dipped 1% year-on-year to 2.082 million.

“Since the launch of our simplified all-in-one triple-play bundles in June last year, we have seen a noticeable acceleration in the level of net triple-play subscriber additions and this trend remained visible in the first quarter as we continue to attract new customers directly on triple-play and have proven successful in upselling existing subscribers to ‘Whop’ and ‘Whoppa’,” said Telenet CEO John Porter.

Overall, adjusted EBITDA in Q1 was up 18% year-on-year to €237.8 million thanks to “substantially lower network operating and service costs.” Revenue was up 3% year-on-year to €416.8 million.