Liberty Global already has over 200,000 subscribers to its Horizon TV service, with more than 145,000 being in the Netherlands and over 55,000 in Switzerland, where it has only been available since January.
According to Mike Fries, the company’s president and CEO, it now expects to launch the full Horizon TV platform in Ireland – present in the country as the unique, 45-channel Horizon Online since mid-April – this summer and in Germany later in the year.
Preparations for the full launch on UPC Ireland are already underway with over 10% of UPC’s eligible customer base downloaded the Horizon TV App in the first 15 days follow its debut. In addition, the Horizon TV App and Horizon TV Online service had almost 100,000 visits for the same period.
Horizon was also a key factor at UPC Cablecom in Switzerland. The new television platform, launched at the beginning of January 2013. To date, upc cablecom has installed more than 55,000 of the devices.
Liberty’s latest set of results show that its consolidated revenues in Q1 amounted to $2.77 billion (€2.11 billion), or 9% more than in the corresponding period last year.
Its western European operations, fuelled by those in Belgium and Germany, accounted for 70% of those revenues, posting growth of 12% and 10% respectively.
Those in CEE, on the other hand, accounted for around 10% of consolidated revenues and grew by 1% year-on-year in the first quarter.
Liberty’s total operating income in Q1 amounted to $525 million, or 6% more than a year earlier.
Over 30% of Liberty’s subscriber opted for triple-play as of the end of Q1, while nearly half (47%) took a bundled offer.
The company notes that it lost 3,000 RGUs in the Netherlands in Q1 2013, compared to a gain of 42,000 a year earlier.
This was down to strong competition in the Dutch market, which Liberty tried to address in the quarter by further improving its offer, introducing a 200 Mbps product in certain areas.
Looking at other markets, upc cablecom notes that its internet service experienced unprecedented growth in Q1, gaining 21,600 new subscribers.
Its revenue also increased sharply, driven by higher customer numbers, growing by 5.1% to CHF303.3 million (€247.1 million). Horizon was among the factors contributing to the broadcaster’s overall strong performance.
UPC Polska meanwhile saw particularly strong growth in the take-up of its digital TV offer, which despite an increasingly competitive market gained an additional 41,100 new subscribers in the quarter.
Elsewhere, Liberty added 169,000 RGUs in Germany in the first quarter, compared to the record 219,000 achieved a year earlier.
This was to some degree due to the loss of a contact to a housing association, the results of which were felt during the quarter.
Commenting on the results, Mike Fries said: “Our track record of strong operating and financial performance from 2012 continued into the first quarter of 2013. We delivered mid-single-digit rebased revenue and OCF growth of 6% and 4%, respectively, with both results comparing favorably to the prior year period. Fueled by the addition of 1.5 million RGUs and over 500,000 mobile subscriptions over the last twelve months, we posted our fifth consecutive quarter with rebased revenue growth of better than 5%, led by Belgium and Germany.”
He also said that after the completion of the Virgin media deal, which the company is on track to complete before the end of Q2, “we expect to have more than sufficient liquidity to fulfill our $3.5 billion share buyback target over the ensuing two years.”