Swelcom, part of Finnish media giant SanomaWSOY, has increased its net sales by 9.3% in the third quarter on the back of growth at cable operator Welho, and totalling €103.4 million. Operating profit increased to €10.4m from €7.7m.
Welho, which is obliged to follow the terrestrial switchover by next February, has ramped up the distribution of digital set-top boxes. The cablenet has revised its pay-TV offering with a series of new channel packages and the launch of four HD channels.
Commercial TV channel Nelonen also played its part, and although audiences have declined as a result of market fragmentation, the combined broadcast operations increased their net sales to €56.7 million from €53.6m in Q3 2006. As previously reported, Nelonen launched a new video-on-demand service in September, offering viewers access to US shows over the web just days after their original transmission. Nelonen has also launched a new national pay-TV channel known as KinoTV.
