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Kabel Deutschland: cable remains the most popular distribution technology in Germany

The split between cable, satellite and other transmission technologies has changed little in Germany over the last year, with analogue cable still accounting for a significant share of homes, but internet video viewing has grown markedly over the last year, according to the latest edition of an annual survey by the country’s media authorities. 

Cable remains the most popular distribution technology with a 46.3% share, flat year-on-year, followed by satellite with 17.8%, down marginally. Digital-terrestrial TV has a 10% share, down 1%, while IPTV had a 4.9% share, flat year-on-year.

Digital TV reaches 83.8% of homes, up from 80.8% last year. About 62.9% of cable homes are digital, up from 55.9%. Digitisation of cable ranges from just 55.3% in Bavaria to 69.9% in neighbouring Baden-Württemberg.

A total of 37% of Germans have connected their TVs to the internet, with 31.2% connecting via a PC, laptop or tablet and 18.7% connected their TV direct to the web. About 7.9% of Germans view internet video content via smart TVs, up from 4.9% last year, while 21.6% view web content via devices connected to the TV, up from 16.7%. Tablet viewing has grown from 6.3% to 11.9%, while PC and laptop viewing has remained stable at 40%. Smartphone viewing stands at 14.4%, up from 11.2%.

About 45.4% of Germans used at least one device to view web video this year, up from 42.7%.