TDC TV hit by changing viewing habits

Danish telco and cable operator TDC says that its Q1 performance was hit by changing viewing habits and the decline of live TV services.

Subscribers dropped by 76,000 year-on-year to reach 1.281 million at the end of March. TV revenue fell by 3.5% to DKK1.019 billion (€137 million) despite a price increase in January that saw ARPU rise by DKK6 to DKK263. Gross profit from TV fell by 7.6% or DKK41 million.

TDC said that its bottom line from TV services was put under further pressure by increased content costs.

The decline in the TV business came despite the launch of a new flexible TV offering combining live and streaming services.

TV compared unfavourably financially with both fixed broadband and mobile services. The former saw revenues grow by 1.2% to DKK610 million, but TDC’s broadband subscriber base also dipped – by 14,000 year-on-year to 1.032 million with high-speed cable growth being offset by a loss of xDSL customers.

The share of cable broadband subscribers with speeds in excess of 100Mbps increased by 28 percentage points to 70%.

Mobile revenues rose 8.9% to DKK748 million, driven by a mobile voice base that grew by 71,000 year-on-year to 1.906 million.

Overall, TDC’s Danish consumer business saw revenue and EBITDA decline by 0.1% and 0.7% respectively.

In Norway, TDC’s Get TV base remained stable against Q4, with a slight loss in residential subscribers being offset by growth in its B2B base in what the company described as an intensively competitive environment. Get’s TV revenues dropped by 3.4% to NOK394 million, but like-for-like revenues increased by NOK16 million, driven by price increases last year.