TV content boosts A1 Telekom Austria

The “increased significance of TV content” helped boost A1 Telekom Austria’s performance in 2018, along with resilience in its fixed-line business and growth in solutions and connectivity.

A1 also saw strong growth in demand for mobile WiFi routers, in some cases substituting for fixed broadband.

The company said that TV content and solutions and connectivity would “an important element” in driving demand for fixed-line services this year.

A1’s pay TV base in Austria grew by 5.4% year-on-year to 313,000, up 5,000 on the previous quarter. Fixed broadband numbers dipped slightly over the same period, down 0.9% to 1.439 million. Landline phone customers were also down, taking fixed revenue-generating units down by 1.9% to 3.278 million.

The company said that demand for TV options continued to be strong and that its converged fixed and mobile offering, with a hybrid fixed and mobile router, was driving growth.

However, said the company, domestic fixed line revenues fell by 2.8%, with stronger demand for TV failing to offset a decline in voice revenues.

In Bulgaria, where A1 owns the former Blizoo cable network, pay TV numbers were up by 4.6% to 507,500, while fixed broadband numbers were up 3.1% to 448,300. The company said that sports TV channels with exclusive content had underpinned growth in this market, helping to drive up revenue-generating unit numbers and average revenue per line.

In Croatia, where A1 owns the former Vipnet cable network, pay TV numbers were up 8.7% to 229,300, while broadband subscribers grew by 1.6% to 254,000. The company said that a new sports TV package launched in June had helped fuel growth in a market where the focus is increasingly on bundled offerings and convergence. It said that growth in TV had helped boost fixed revenues despite a shift from fixed broadband to mobile WiFi routers.

In neighbouring Slovenia, where A1 owns the former Amis cable network, pay TV numbers grew 6.4% to 60,200. Broadband subscribers were up 4.8% to 73,700.

In Macedonia, A1’s local subsidiary grew its pay TV base by 4.8% to 128,800, while its broadband base grew by 14.8% to 131,600.

In Belarus, pay TV numbers were up 64.1% to 408,100, while broadband numbers grew by 16.4% to 246,700.