Satellite overtakes cable in Germany

More German households are watching TV via satellite rather than cable for the first time, according to SES’s latest TV Monitor report.

At the end of 2011, 17.5 million homes took DTH services, compared to 17.3 million taking cable services. The number of satellite customers increased by 900,000 during the course of the year, while cable numbers were down by 900,000. DTT customer numbers were also down by 180,000 to a total of 1.8 million, while IPTV customers increased by 330,000 to 1.3 million.

Of the total satellite customer base, only 1.8 million were still watching analogue services. Germany will cease broadcasting analogue satellite signals at the end of April.

“The new TV Monitor reveals a historical quantum leap for Astra and Direct-to-Home satellite reception in Germany,” said Ferdinand Kayser, chief commercial officer at SES. “The phenomenal results show that more and more TV viewers acknowledge the advantages of satellite reception and that Astra continues to lead the digitisation in Germany. In only two years, we were able to increase our reach by 1.3 million households. With more than 260 German-language channels, of which over 37 are in HD, Astra offers an unrivalled range of programming in excellent picture and sound quality. We are confident that we will be able to develop further significant momentum until the definitive technical switch-over from analogue to digital satellite transmission taking place on 30 April 2012.”