March 18, 2010

Astra adds 1 million customers in Germany

by Rapid TV News

The number of satellite households receiving digital television via Astra (19.2° East) in Germany has risen in 2009 by around one million to 12.14 million.

More than half (58%) of Germany’s total number of digital TV households are Astra households, confirming the role of DTH as the main accelerator for digitalisation in Germany.

Out of Germany’s 37.4 million TV households, 21.12 million (56%) were digital households at the end of 2009.

However, there’s still great disparity between reception methods: 75% of DTH households have moved to digital, while the digital share on cable networks stands at 34%.

The figures are taken from the new Satellite Monitor report which SES Astra unveiled at a press conference in Berlin on March 17.

For the study, which market research group TNS Infratest compiles each year for the satellite operator, around 6,000 interviews were conducted in autumn 2009 in Germany.

A look at reception methods reveals that cable networks continue to be the main television supplier.

Out of Germany’s 37.4 million TV households 18.6 million have a cable subscription, giving cable a market share of 50%.

16.2 million households have a DTH system (43%), 2 million (5%) rely on DTT and 700,000 (2%) have opted for IPTV.

HDTV continues to be a driving force for digitalisation.

According to market research group GfK, in December 2009 more HD receivers were sold than conventional set-top-boxes for the first time.

Since the introduction of HDTV in Germany in January 2006, a total of 1.3 million satellite HD receivers have been sold.

At the end of January 2010, more than 22 million HD ready TV sets stood in German households.

With the launch of the public broadcasters’ HD channels at the Winter Olympics, German DTH households can now receive 17 HD channels on Astra, leading to Germany jumping from spot 17 to spot 4 amongst Europe’s HD nations within the past 12 months.

SES Astra expects to carry “considerably more than 20 HD channels” on its satellite system for German households by the end of the year.

Story link: Astra adds 1 million customers in Germany

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