Swisscom sees small TV decline as it keeps prices stable

Swisscom’s TV base declined by 2.1% in the year to June to end with 1.55 million subscribers. The telco’s broadband base also declined – by 0.7% – to end of 2.01 million connections.

Most residential subscribers are now signed up to one of Swisscom’s ‘blue’ offerings. The blue brand now accounts for 48% of all mobile subscriptions and 80% of fixed-line broadband connections.

Unlike many of its peers and rivals, Swisscom has committed not to implement any general price rises until the end of next year, despite inflationary pressure. The policy applies to its internet, TV and fixed-line offerings as well as secondary and third-party brands.

Swisscom’s overall revenue dropped slightly by 0.3% to CHF4.54 billion, meaning it saw an increase of 0.5% at constant currency. Revenue from its telecom services decreased by 1.2% to CHF2.689 billion, but residential customer revenue was down only 0.4% at CHF1.919 billion, boosted by post-paid mobile growth.

Swisscom benefited from growth in Italy, where it owns Fastweb. This business posted revenue growth of 4.3%.

“I’m proud of our strong financial result and solid market performance in the first half of 2023, Swisscom has delivered convincing performance across the board. Customer satisfaction is high. Although we have been unable to escape the current inflation unscathed, we are using efficient cost management to cushion the blow of rising costs. This allows us to guarantee that our blue subscription prices will remain unchanged until the end of 2024,” said CEO Christoph Aeschlimann.