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Publication - 2007.5.24
CABLE DISTRIBUTION
NETWORKS
Statistical Information
1st Quarter 2007
Cable Distribution Networks
1st quarter 2007
CABLE DISTRIBUTION NETWORKS
1st Quarter 2007
1. Cabled households
1
During the first quarter of 2007 (1Q07), there were around 60 thousand new cabled
households, for all cable TV distribution operators, 1.5 per cent more than the figure
for the previous quarter (see Table 1). The total number of cabled households, for all
operators, has therefore passed the 4 million1.
During the quarter, the Centre was the region that saw the highest growth in the
number of cabled households (2.4 per cent), very closely followed by the North (2.3
per cent).
It was also the North region that saw the largest year-on-year rise (15.9 per cent).
North
Centre
Lisbon
Alentejo
Algarve
ARA
ARM
Total
Unit: Thousands
Table 1. Total cabled households (all operators)– 1Q071
Variation (%)
Total households by
Total cabled households
NUTS II1
Year-on.
(all operators)
Quarterly
year
(source: INE)
1 208
2.3%
15.9%
1 605
581
2.4%
8.0%
1 248
1 793
0.9%
2.2%
1 282
133
0.6%
3.5%
421
223
1.6%
7.3%
276
56
0.0%
0.0%
93
88
0.2%
1.1%
94
4 082
1.5%
7.1%
5 019
1
The provision of this service by more than one operator in the same area means that it is possible that
the same household has been cabled by more than one operator. Therefore in reaching the sum of all
operator cabled households, which considers all the figures reported by each and every operator,
households could be counted more than once. This effect is evident, for instance, in the Lisbon area,
where the sum of all cabled households is higher than the sum of all households, and it is having greater
impact with the increase of competition among operators. For this reason, the “cabled households/Total
number of households” penetration indicator is no longer given. In fact, because it is not possible to solve
this question, ICP-ANACOM considers that this indicator should not be used to assess this service’s
penetration rate.
ICP-ANACOM
2
Cable Distribution Networks
1st quarter 2007
No major changes were seen in the distribution of cabled households by NUTS II
region (see Graph 1), with the Lisbon area continuing to have the biggest
concentration of cabled households (44 per cent)1.
Graph 1. Distribution of cabled households by NUTS II – 1Q07
C entre
14.2%
Lisbon
43.9%
North
29.6%
ARM
2.2%
ARA
1.4%
Algarve
5.5%
Alentejo
3.3%
2. Subscription television service – cable and DTH
Overall, around 37.5 per cent of households had a subscription television service as
at the end of 1Q07, supported either by cable or DTH (see Graph 2). The total
number of subscribers to this service stood at 1,881 thousand, representing around
18 subscribers per 100 inhabitants.
ICP-ANACOM
3
Cable Distribution Networks
1st quarter 2007
Graph 2. Subscription television service penetration (cable and DTH) in
proportion to total households– 1Q07
100%
87,0%
90%
91,8%
80%
70%
58,5%
60%
50%
40%
30%
37,5%
30,6%
24,9%
21,1%
26,4%
20%
10%
0%
North
Centre
Lisbon Alentejo Algarve
ARA
ARM
Portugal
% de assinantes de serviço de televisão
While cable remains, for the present, the technology most used by subscription
television service providers in Portugal, at the end of 1Q07 (see Graph 3), there is
great disparity of cable and DTH penetration between NUTS II as a percentage of
households.
Graph 3. Penetration as proportion of total households of TV subscribers through
cable and DTH, by NUTSII – 1Q07
100%
90%
19,4%
80%
70%
3,1%
38,8%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
72,4%
55,4%
9,0%
10,8%
21,6%
11,8%
9,4%
Centre
Lisbon Alentejo Algarve
% of cable subscribers
ICP-ANACOM
8,8%
48,2%
28,6%
19,0%
14,0%
0%
North
7,5%
ARA
ARM
Portugal
% DTH sunscribers
4
Cable Distribution Networks
1st quarter 2007
This fact follows from the network development strategy of the historic operator. It
can be seen that this operator has been using DTH technology to provide its services
in areas where the geography or dispersion of population and/or commercial
perspectives may make the installation of a cable network inadvisable.
The DTH
television service, in part, compliments the cable distribution services.
The greatest investment in DTH technology has been seen in the Alentejo, where
DTH represents around 56 per cent of households with access to these services, and
in the Centre and Autonomous Region of the Azores.
In other regions, the cable
television service represents between 70 and 95 per cent of the total (see Table 2).
Table 2. Distribution of total subscribers by technology and by NUTS II – 1Q07
% of television service subscribers
North
Centre
Lisbon
Alentejo
Algarve
ARA
ARM
Total
cable
DTH
70.6%
56.4%
29.4%
43.6%
94.7%
44.2%
71.7%
5.3%
55.8%
28.3%
55.4%
78.9%
76.4%
44.6%
21.1%
23.6%
Looking at the overall distribution of subscribers by technology, it can be seen that
the cable TV service represented, as at the end of 1Q07, 76.4 per cent of all
subscribers to these services (see Table 2 and Graph 4).
ICP-ANACOM
5
Cable Distribution Networks
1st quarter 2007
Graph 4. Trend in percentage of subscription television subscribers by type of
technology
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
1T02
1T03
1T04
Cable subscribers
1T05
1T06
1T07
DTH Subscribers
It should be stressed that, as demonstrated by the statistical data, DTH has grown
more rapidly the cable TV service (see Table 2, Graph 4 and Graph 5), slowly but
steadily increasing its relative position in the market.
ICP-ANACOM
6
Cable Distribution Networks
1st quarter 2007
Graph 5. Trends in DTH and cable television subscribers
2,000,000
1,500,000
1,000,000
500,000
1st
QTR.
2nd
QTR.
3rd
QTR.
4th
QTR.
1st
QTR.
2nd
QTR.
3rd
QTR.
4th
QTR.
1st
QTR.
2nd
QTR.
3rd
QTR.
4th
QTR.
1st
QTR.
2nd
QTR.
3rd
QTR.
4th
QTR.
1st
QTR.
2nd
QTR.
3rd
QTR.
4th
QTR.
1st
QTR.
0
2002
2003
2004
Cable subscribers
2005
2006
2007
DTH subscribers
3. Cable subscription television service 2
As at the end of 1Q07, the cable television distribution service had about 1.4 million
subscribers, slightly more than in the previous quarter. The increase, compared to
the 1st quarter of 2006, was 2.1 per cent (see Table 4), which translates to
an absolute figure of 30 thousand new subscribers compared to 1Q06.
The quarterly rise in the number of cable television subscribers is a direct reflection
of the same trend in the number of customers of one of the alternative operators,
which along the course of 2006 and in 1Q07 invested in its infrastructure and offer
range.
2
The effects should be stressed, in the cases of the autonomous regions of Madeira and the Azores, of the
protocols made between the Government of the Republic, the Regional Governments, ICP-ANACOM and
the only operator currently working in each of these regions. These protocols aim to guarantee that the
citizens of these archipelagos have free access to general national channels as well as to ensure the
gradual migration from analogue to digital technology. The Madeira protocol was signed on 6 August
2004, and has therefore had an effect on the number of Cable TV subscribers since 4Q04. The Azores
protocol, signed on 5 November 2005 and in force for one year, is now starting to have its effects felt in
an increase in the number of cable TV subscribers.
ICP-ANACOM
7
Cable Distribution Networks
1st quarter 2007
The percentage of subscribers to this service as a proportion of the total
Portuguese population stood at 13.6 per cent (see Table 3), increasing 0.2 per
cent over the previous quarter 3.
Table 3. Cable subscription TV service subscribers per 100 inhabitants– 1Q07
% Subscribers
North
Centre
Lisbon
Alentejo
Algarve
ARA
ARM
Total
9.3%
7.3%
25.5%
5.1%
12.6%
18.4%
27.8%
13.6%
In the quarter being reported, the North was the region registering the highest
quarterly increase in the number of cable television subscribers (3.1 per cent).
When compared to the same period of the previous year, the Azores and also the
North, stand out with recorded growth rates of 6.9 e 5.3 per cent, respectively2.
Table 4. Cable TV distribution service by NUTS II – 1Q07
Variation (%)
Subscribers
Quarterly
Year-onyear
Centre
347
175
3.1%
2.3%
5.3%
4.1%
Lisbon
710
0.2%
-0.3%
39
52
1.0%
1.9%
3.5%
2.2%
45
68
1 436
1.8%
-0.2%
1.3%
6.9%
3.4%
2.1%
North
Alentejo
Algarve
ARA
ARM
Total
Unit: Thousands
3
Note that, in the cases of the autonomous regions of Madeira and the Azores, these indicators are
influenced by the effects of the protocols made between the Government of the Republic, the Regional
Governments, ICP-ANACOM and the only operator currently working in each of these regions. These
protocols aim to guarantee that the citizens of these archipelagos have free access to general national
channels as well as to ensure the gradual migration from analogue to digital technology. The Madeira
protocol was signed on 6 August 2004, and has therefore had an effect, especially on the number of Cable
TV subscribers, since 4Q04. The Azores protocol, signed on 5 November 2005 and started to have an
impact from the beginning of 2006, specifically in an increase in the number of cable TV subscribers.
ICP-ANACOM
8
Cable Distribution Networks
1st quarter 2007
In 1Q07, the distribution of cable television subscribers by region remained
unchanged, with half of all cable television subscribers concentrated in the Lisbon
area (see Graph 6).
Graph 6. Distribution of subscribers by NUTS II – 1Q07
Lisbon
49.4%
Centre
12.2%
North
24.1%
ARM
4.7%
ARA
3.1%
Algarve
3.6%
Alentejo
2.7%
As at the end of 1Q07, subscribers to the cable television distribution service
represented 28.6 per cent of all Portuguese households. In comparison with the
first quarter of 2006, this value has risen slightly, by 0.6 per cent.
The distribution of subscribers to the cable television distribution service by NUTS II
(see Graph 7) as a percentage of total households saw little change over the
previous quarter. The greatest variation, a rise of 0.9 per cent, was seen in the
Autonomous Region of the Azores. The North also recorded a slight increase, of 0.7
per cent, while in all the other regions the variations recorded were under half of one
percent.
The Autonomous Region of Madeira and the Alentejo continue to be the regions with
the highest and lowest penetration of cable television distribution services,
respectively.
ICP-ANACOM
9
Cable Distribution Networks
1st quarter 2007
Graph 7. Subscribers as a percentage of total households – 1Q07
80.0%
72.4%
70.0%
55.4%
60.0%
48.2%
50.0%
40.0%
30.0%
28.6%
21.6%
19.0%
14.0%
20.0%
9.4%
10.0%
0.0%
North
Centre
Lisbon
Alentejo Algarve
ARA
ARM
Portugal
Subscribers as % of households
4. DTH subscription television service subscribers
At the end of 1Q07, the television distribution service using Direct To Home (DTH)
technology had 444 thousand subscribers, 2 per cent more than in the previous
quarter and 13.7 per cent more than in the same quarter of 2006 (see Table 5).
In absolute terms, this translates to 9 thousand more subscribers during the
quarter.2
Compared to the previous quarter, the Azores had the highest growth (4 per cent).
Compared to the same quarter of the previous year, the highest growth occurred in
the Azores again (36.8 per cent). This rise was influenced by the protocol that aims
ICP-ANACOM
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Cable Distribution Networks
1st quarter 2007
to guarantee free access to general national channels and to encourage the gradual
switch from analogue to digital technology in the autonomous regions.
Table 5. DTH subscribers by NUTS II– 1Q07
Variation (%)
Subscribers
North
Centre
Lisbon
Alentejo
Algarve
ARA
ARM
Total
Quarterly
Year-onyear
145
135
2.3%
1.6%
20.3%
10.6%
40
50
21
-0.5%
3.1%
0.9%
3.2%
5.0%
8.5%
36
18
444
4.0%
1.5%
2.0%
36.8%
7.7%
13.7%
Unit: Thousands
The North and Centre Regions continue to have the highest number of subscribers
(both with over 30 per cent).
Graph 8. . Distribution of DTH subscribers by NUTS II – 1Q07
Centre
30.5%
North
32.5%
Lisbon
9.0%
ARM
4.1%
ICP-ANACOM
ARA
8.1%
Algarve
4.6%
Alentejo
11.2%
11
Cable Distribution Networks
1st quarter 2007
Annex: Methodology note
Please see below some points on the indicators given in this document and the
methodology used in their calculation:
Cable TV subscribers as percentage of total households – indicator showing the
penetration rate of cable TV service, assuming that, when a household has been
cabled by more than one operator, the user will only have subscribed to the services
of one of them;
Subscribers as percentage of total cabled households – service penetration
considering the total of all cabled households;
TV subscribers as a percentage of the population – penetration rate calculated
with respect to the total population.
Information is released on the number of subscribers to television distribution service
using DTH (Direct to Home) 4 technology in view of the understanding that cable
television distribution may be seen as a part of a broader service, i.e. that of paid
television, and also in view of the fact that DTH is provided by operators that are
authorized to install and operate cable distribution networks.
4
Alternative to cable infrastructure for the distribution of television signals.
ICP-ANACOM
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