Rostelecom grows TV base and revenues

Russian service provider Rostelecom grew its pay TV base by 5% last year to reach 9.8 million homes, with IPTV subscribers growing by 14% to reach 4.8 million. IPTV accounted for all new TV subscriber additions in the fourth quarter.

Rostelecom had 12 million residential broadband subscribers at the end of the year, up 3%, with the number of fibre custoemrs growing 8% to 7.7 million.

Mikhail Oseevsky

Revenue from TV services increased by 6% year-on-year to RUB27.3 billion (€386 million), boosted by strong growth in the fourth quarter of 12%, taking TV revenues in that quarter to over RUB7 billion. Overall, Rostelecom’s revenues were up 3% for the year to RUB305.3 billion. The company said TV revenues were boosted by higher ARPU and increased video-on-demand usage.

The year saw the introduction to new packages for hospitality and business TV services, and the introduction of new sports packages.

“For the third consecutive quarter we have demonstrated high revenue growth rates and positive OIBDA dynamics. We are delivering on a successful digital transformation of our business model, as evidenced by a double-digit revenue growth in the digital business stream and the content segment that remains key engine for Rostelecom’s strategic reformation,” said Rostelecom CEO Mikhail Oseevsky.

“In the residential segment, in addition to core connectivity service, which continues to be in high demand, our new products with high added value, such as ‘Smart house’, ‘Interactive TV’, antivirus and other services, are gaining increasing prominence.”