5 - 7 March 2013: The Lancaster Hotel, London

Poised for Growth as Broadband, Digital TV & On-demand Take Off

Strong growth shown in newly released figures from IHS Screen Digest; consolidation expected in CEE as region plays closes gap on Western Europe.

(Lucerne, February 16) Analysts are predicting a positive near-term growth outlook for the European cable industry as new research reveals strong growth in 2010 in the core areas of broadband internet, digital TV and on-demand video services. The new research, compiled exclusively for Cable Europe, the cable industry’s Brussels-based trade association, by IHS Screen Digest, points to a number of growth highlights for the industry:
• 41% of all cable homes now digital (total 24 million)
• Broadband and telephony connections growing by +10%
• On-demand income growing at 26%
• EU ARPU at €23
• Over 23 million homes now using cable internet

With growth in Western Europe mainly coming from increased triple play packages as more and more consumers opt for next generation broadband and advanced television services such as video on demand and HDTV, IHS Screen Digest also predicted that cable operators in Central and Eastern Europe between 2010 and 2014 can expect strong gains in Average
Revenue Per User (ARPU), a key metric regarded by many analysts as one of the best barometer’s of an operator’s health.

“Cable is a capital-intensive business but these numbers prove unequivocally that our investments were made in the right places, at the right time,” said Manuel Kohnstamm, President of Cable Europe. “Across Europe, we are seeing healthy growth in our key metrics, with cable operators increasingly coming to be seen as value-added service providers rather than as utilities, as they may have done in the past.”

“Cable operators know that, to succeed in a highly competitive market, they need to be able to offer their customers more choice and higher quality services. This is why it gives me great pleasure to note that, in 2011, cable operators’ revenue from on-demand services is expected to overtake the satellite sector as a proportion of pay-TV revenues for the first time. This achievement is all the more impressive, in light of the fact cable started investing in its DOCSIS 3.0 next generation access technology considerably later than rival technologies, such as VDSL and FTTP,” said Caroline Van Weede, Managing Director of Cable Europe.

Cable Europe’s new research was unveiled to delegates at the industry’s annual Marquee event, Cable Congress 2011, which is being held in Lucerne. For more news and information on Cable Congress, visit www.cablecongress.com or follow the events on twitter@Cablecongress.

For more information, please contact:
Gregg Svingen
Director of Communications
M: +32 476 490 603
E: [email protected]
About IHS Screen Digest
IHS Screen Digest is the pre-eminent firm of industry analysts covering global media markets.
Headquartered in London, with offices in New York and Monterey, California, we employ a team of 40
specialist analysts covering film, television, broadband, mobile, cinema, home entertainment and
gaming. Our online services and reports provide the information and analysis that hundreds of media
companies worldwide base their decisions on.
www.screendigest.com

About Cable Europe
Cable Europe is a trade association that groups all leading broadband cable TV operators and their
national associations throughout Europe. The aim of Cable Europe is to promote and defend the
industry’s policies and business interests at European and international levels, and to foster
cooperation among its members. The European cable TV industry services more than 94 million
broadband, TV and telephony subscriptions throughout the EU 27 (around 70 million households).
www.cable-europe.eu

Download the Press Release (PDF): Poised_for_Growth_as_Broadband,_Digital_TV_-and-_On_-demand_Take_Off_-_Screen_Digest_-DRAFT