There are now 732,000 pay-TV homes in Lithuania, with cable accounting for 60% of the total, according to Juozas Jurelionis, VP and director of the Lithuanian Cable TV Association (LKTA).
He added that only 25% of cable homes are digital and that while there had been growth in the cable sector up to ASO on October 29 last year, it had since slowed and will probably only pick up again when the economy starts to recover.
Jurelionis also said that will subscription fees at around only €5 a month it is hard for operators in Lithuania to grow their business.
What is more, they face competition from the IPTV, DTT and DTH sectors.
This is particularly strong in the capital, Vilnius, where viewers could chose from services provided by six cable operators, one MMDS operator, the incumbent TEO (DTT and IPTV) and Viasat (DTH).
Jurelionis also said that cable is a strong player in the internet sector, accounting for one third of the market.
Lithuania itself is the number one country in Europe – and five in the world – in terms of internet speeds, with 10% of subscribers already receiving access of 100 Mbps or higher. On the down side, this tends to encourage piracy.
