The World Cup may be a distant memory for some, but Multichoice is still feeling the benefits of having the competition on its home turf.
The Naspers-owned South African pay-TV operator described its subscriber growth as “lively”, adding an additional 977,000 subscribers, its World Cup coverage helped by new decoder subsidies and marketing.
In South Africa the gross base expanded by 637 000 to 3,5 million subscribers. The lower-priced Compact bouquet accounted for 59% of the growth. Television advertising also revenues rebounded, growing by 32%.
In the rest of sub-Saharan Africa our base grew by 340 000 to 1,4 million subscribers. The Compact/Family bouquets now reach 602 000 families.
On the technology side of the business, Nasper’s technology subsidiary Irdeto benefited from efficient management of its products and structure.
Irdeto reported the delivery of over 18 million conditional access units were delivered, a 17% increase on the previous year. The company says it is now well positioned to deliver security products for internet-delivered content.
