Digital+ crawls to 2.080m subs

Spanish pay-TV platform Digital+ added just 15,000 new subscribers in the first quarter of 2008. It underlines the plateauing of the platform’s operations amid increased competition from the IPTV sector.
The Sogecable-owned operation has introduced a number of innovations that are designed to increase ARPU, the amount of revenue derived each month from its subscribers. This was rewarded with a quarterly increase in ARPU of €3.2 to €48.7.

January 31 saw the launch of Canal+ HD, finally providing some premium content for owners of the i+ personal video recorder. No figures on the take-up of the device. Subscribers will benefit from HD coverage of the Euro 2008 football championship.

As of March 31, 2008, Sogecable had 2,080,000 subscribers, including 2,065,000 to Digital+ itself. 97% of Digital+ subscribers take at least one option from the pay-TV Canal+.

Sogecable recorded its highest quarterly turnover that was in excess of €500 million for the first time. Revenues at Digital+ grew to €433.4 million while the free-to-air channel Cuatro also increased to €74.1 million.