Belgacom TV has said its growth in 2008 exceeded that of the previous year, the company adding 201,000 new subscribers. A strong fourth quarter saw 63,000 net additions, bringing the total TV customer base to 506,000 by the end of 2008.
“A real turning point was the launch of Belgacom TV over broadband in 2005, when for the first time Belgian households were offered a true alternative to cable,” the company said in a statement.
Belgacom added that it managed to increase its market share in the digital TV domain to a strong 30% by the end of 2008. The number of homes passed also increased significantly: at the end of 2008, over 86% of Belgian households could access Belgacom TV and more than 64% could watch in HD.
In 2008, Belgacom added 201,000 new TV users, a considerable rise compared to the 166,000 in 2007. Customer growth peaked in the fourth quarter of 2008, with a total of 63,000 net additions, due to successful year-end promotions.
By the end of 2008, the IPTV operator had a total of 506,000 users, including the growing number of customers connecting a second TV set, which stood at 65,000 customers.
Despite the year-end promotions, which impacted the ARPU in the fourth quarter, the overall 2008 TV ARPU continued its positive evolution and grew 7% to €17.20, compared to €16.10 in 2007.
An important driver of this continued improvement is the success of on demand services.
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