Swisscom sees TV base decline

Source: Swisscom

Swisscom’s TV base declined by 2.2% in the year to September, taking its total TV base down to 1.54 million.

The telco also saw its broadband base decline by 0.9% to 2.01 million over the same period.

The numbers were revealed shortly after Swisscom launched its new TV set-top, the TV-Box 5, which has been available since October 24. The device is Android-based and integrates Disney+ as a new streaming partner, with a new premium package comprising Disney+, Paramount+, Sky Cinema and blue Max at a discounted price.

Revenue from telecoms services in the residential market declined by 0.5% year-on-year to CHF2.883 billion.

At the end of September, 2.47 million or 45% of homes and businesses were connected to Swisscom’s FTTH network.

The company said it would build out FTTH to about 55% of Swiss homes by the end of this year and to between 70-80% by 2030, including third-party networks.

Italian subsidiary Fastweb meanwhile saw its fixed and mobile connections grow. In the fixed world, Fastweb say its retail base decline by 3.1% to 2.61 million connections, but this was offset by connections provided to other operators, which were up 38.56% to 579,000.

Overall revenue to Swisscom was CHF8.2 billion, down 0.9% on a restated basis, while EBITDA was down 2.2% restated to CHF3.48 billion.

Due to the strong Swiss franc and lower hardware sales in Switzerland, Swisscom is slightly adjusting its revenue forecast for 2023 and now expects net revenue of about CHF11.0 billion (previously CHF11.1 billion to CHF11.2 billion).

Join us in-person at the Media & Entertainment Leaders Summit on 7 November in London for more in-depth analysis on this topic. For tickets, visit here.