Cable TV subscribers in Switzerland continue to decline

According to figures from Swisscable, the sectoral association for cable TV companies in Switzerland, the number of cable TV subscribers in the country at the end of June 2014 was 2.677 million, down 29.8 thousand, or 1.1%, versus the 2.707 million recorded at the end of June 2013.

Cable TV subscribers:

30.06.2013  30.06.2014           Change
----------  ----------  ---------------
 2,706,800   2,677,000  -29,800 (-1.1%)

Cable remains dominant TV platform in Switzerland

At the end of 2013, Switzerland had more than 2,692,400 cable TV subscribers, down 57,600 from 2,750,700 the previous year.

Despite growing competition, cable remains the dominant platform for television in the country with a two-thirds market share, according to the cable association Swisscable. There are 220 cable operators in the country.

During the past year, the number of broadband internet subscribers surpassed the one million mark to a total of 1,054,800 (plus 104,300 during the year). The number of telephony customers grew with 68,700 and the total number of combined broadband and telephony homes to 1,054,800.

“The cable connection is and will remain the first choice for television in Switzerland,” according to says Simon Osterwalder, since March 1, 2014 managing director of Swisscable,
“This is still almost twice as much as all other platforms combined.”

The combined Swiss cable networks have 66% iof the TV market, followed by Swisscom TV with 1 million homes (24%), satellite DTH with 315,00 homes (85), Sunrise TV, an alternative IPV provider, with 70,000 (less than 2%) and digital terrestrial with 35,000 homes (less than 1%).