What is already a good event will be even better next year when Cable Congress heads east to Poland.
As the 2014 congress drew to a close in Brussels, one was left with the feeling that despite the many differences that still exist between markets in WE and CEE, when it comes to the cable industry there is much more that they have in common.
This was plain to see in the last two sessions of the second day of this year’s congress. They featured a presentation from IHS, followed by a panel discussion on CEE – the first I had seen at the event for quite some time – and brought a number of important points to my attention.
Firstly, the cable market in CEE is growing impressively. Its revenues more than tripled between 2004 and last year, from €1.5 billion to €5 billion. While the latter figure was still only a fraction of the €20.6 billion in WE, the gap is slowly but surely narrowing.
There are also important differences between cable markets in CEE itself. Poland’s is mature by WE standards, and the same can almost certainly be said for those in the Czech Republic and Hungary. On the other hand, both it and most others are still highly fragmented and this – certainly in the view of many speakers in many sessions at Cable Congress this year – is a state of affairs that holds back development.
Other differences within CEE are seen in such areas as ARPU. Their low levels in such markets as Bulgaria and Romania can act as a break on even the most ambitious operators but are ultimately a reflection of what consumers can realistically afford to pay for their products.
Liberty Global is of course the key player in the region’s cable industry and in a Skype (yes Skype!) interview on the first day of the congress Mike Fries revealed that the large investment in the UK recently announced by Virgin Media would in due course be replicated in other Liberty markets. There is no reason to believe he was not referring to CEE as well as WE.
Although Fries and another Liberty executive (Andrew Salvato) refused to be drawn on recent speculation linking the company with Vodafone, he provided some insights into its M&A plans. These are likely to focus on acquisitions in markets Liberty already has a presence in, which will no doubt cheer those calling for more consolidation.
For the record, the next Cable Congress will be in Warsaw, but there is a possibility it may be moved to Krakow, which has a brand new convention centre.
We will keep you posted.
