Telefónica sees TV base decline

Source: Telefónica

Telefónica saw its global TV base decline by 2.4% year-on-year to 10.206 million at the end of March.

In Spain, the overall TV base was down 1.3%, despite three consecutive quarters of positive, albeit modest growth. Telefónica España added 7,000 TV customers in the three months to March, taking its total to 3.433 million. However, the additions were not enough to offset the decline experiences in Q2 last year, when it lost 60,000 TV customers over the three months.

Telefónica España’s broadband base meanwhile grew by 1.2% to 5.946 million, boosted by growth in FTTH, up 6% to 5.43 million.

Convergent customers remained flat however, at 4.543 million.

In Brazil, Telefónica’s pay TV base – now all IPTV-based – declined by 6.3% to 828,000, while its fixed broadband base – mostly FTTH – increased by 5.1% to 6.785 million.

In Spanish-speaking Latin America, Telefónica’s operating companies collectively had 2.805 million TV customers at the end of March, down 3.6%.

On a more positive note, the company’s IPTV (as opposed to satellite) base in Spanish-speaking Latin America grew by 17.1% to 1.733 million.

The Latin American fixed broadband base declined by 1.7% to 6.003 million, despite growth in FTTH.

Telefónica’s overall revenues for the quarter were up 0.9% to €10.14 billion, while EBITDA was up 1.9% to €3.205 billion.

“On 19th April 2024 we celebrated our Company Centenary, of which I am very proud. This was the day that marks an important milestone; the Spanish copper network is almost fully shutdown allowing us to reap the benefits of past investment cycles, whilst sustaining our differentiation in terms of network quality. We delivered solid Q1 results to start 2024 into our GPS plan, where we plan to deliver tangible, material transformation. Q1 shows intact commercial momentum and growing revenue and EBITDA, while FCF reflected usual seasonality in Q1. Looking forward, our GPS plan backed by our principles of integrity, commitment and transparency, will allow us to continue to deliver shareholder value,” said chair and CEO José María Álvarez-Pallete.