Naspers made a R2.6 billion (€202.7 million) profit from the sale of its pay-TV businesses in Greece and Cyprus. The disposal of NetMed to the Greek telecommunications company Forthnet helped counterbalance the loss made from Naspers’ involvement in Mobile 3.0. The German nationwide mobile TV operator last month handed back its DVB-H licence on the orders of the Zulassungs- und Aufsichtskommission für den privaten Rundfunk (ZAK).
Nasper’s remaining pay-TV business, led by the Multichoice DStv package in its South African domestic market, grew revenues by 28%. Subscriber numbers grew by a healthy 171,000 in the six months ending September 30, 2008.
In South Africa itself subscribers grew by a net 79,000 to 1,649 000. The mid-priced Compact bouquet delivered firm growth to 369 000. However, a slowdown in consumer spending led to a reduction in advertising.
In sub-Saharan Africa Olympics coverage helped grow the subscriber base by 92,000 to 630,000. Here the Compact bouquet, Multichoice’s competitive response to the emergence of smaller local operators reached 247,000.
