Portugal adds 179,300 pay TV subscribers in 2014

According to Portugal’s Autoridade Nacional de Comunicações (ANACOM), there were 3.35 million subscribers to subscription TV in the country at the end of 2014, 55,800 (+1.7 percent) more than in the previous quarter, and an extra 179,300 (+5.7 percent) compared with the end of 2013.

At the end of December, cable TV represented 40.8 percent of total subscribers, while DTH comprised 17.9 percent, and xDSL comprised 22.6 percent. Optical fibre (FTTH/B) accounted for 18.7 percent of all subscribers.

The total number of cable television service subscribers – around 1.367 million – was 9.3 thousand down on the previous quarter (-0.7 percent). The number of DTH subscribers stood at 601 thousand, 7 thousand more (+1.2 percent) than in the previous quarter, and 11.5 thousand fewer than at the end of 2013 (-1.9%). The number of subscribers to subscription TV via optical fibre (FTTH/B) increased by 2.5 percent in the quarter, 10.3 percent annually, reaching a total of 627 thousand.

Subscription television service subscribers by technology (Units: 1000 subscribers; %)

                                                                                          Quarterly        Annual
                                 13Q1   13Q2   13Q3   13Q4   14Q1   14Q2   14Q3   14Q4    variation     variation
                                -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----------  ------------
Cable                           1,446  1,433  1,417  1,401  1,396  1,386  1,376  1,367  -9.3  -0.7%  -33.9  -2.4%
DTH                               646    633    630    612    598    592    594    601   7.0   1.2%  -11.5  -1.9%
FTTH                              414    434    452    473    511    550    587    627  39.6   2.5%  154.1  10.3%
Other technologies (xDSL, FWA)    623    644    657    686    705    720    738    756  18.5   6.7%   70.5  32.6%
                                -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----------  ------------
Total                           3,129  3,143  3,156  3,171  3,210  3,248  3,294  3,350  55.8   1.7%  179.3   5.7%

The ZON Optimus Group continues to have the largest, though consistently declining, share of subscription TV subscribers (44.0 percent). PT Comunicações (PTC) and Cabovisão follow with shares of 42.2 percent and 6.2 percent, respectively. Vodafone continues to gain share though from a low base.

Shares of subscription TV subscribers (Units: %)

                               13Q1    13Q2    13Q3    13Q4    14Q1    14Q2    14Q3    14Q4
                             ------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------
Grupo ZON/TV Cabo            49.74%   49.0%       -       -       -       -       -       -
Optimus (ex-Sonaecom)         1.18%    1.2%       -       -       -       -       -       -
Grupo ZON Optimus[1]/NOS[2]       -       -   49.2%   47.8%   46.4%   45.3%   44.5%   44.0%
  Optimus/NOS Comunicações        -    1.2%    0.8%       -       -   42.3%   41.5%   41.0%
  ZON Madeira/NOS Madeira     2.00%    2.0%    2.0%    2.0%       -    2.0%    2.0%    1.9%
  ZON Açores/NOS Açores       1.44%    1.4%    1.4%    1.1%       -    1.1%    1.1%    1.0%
  ZON TV Cabo Portugal       46.30%   45.6%   44.7%   43.8%       -       -       -       -
PT Comunicações              39.88%   40.4%   40.9%   41.5%   41.6%   41.9%   42.1%   42.2%
Cabovisão                     7.59%    7.4%    7.2%    7.1%    6.9%    6.7%    6.5%    6.2%
Vodafone                      1.45%    1.8%    2.5%    3.5%    5.0%    5.9%    6.7%    7.5%
Other providers               0.19%    0.2%    0.2%    0.2%    0.2%    0.2%    0.2%    0.2%

1. ZON acquired Optimus on August 27, 2013
2. On May 16, 2014, Optimus changed its name to NOS Comunicações.
Source: ICP-ANACOM