MTS sees small pay TV decline as it restates acquisition sub bases

Russian service provider MTS saw its pay TV base fall slightly in the second quarter, dropping by 2.7% to 2.806 million as a result of reconciliation of acquired companies’ subscriber definitions with those of MTS and completion of the statutory merger of the former Comstar-Regions. 

Broadband subscribers were flat quarter-on-quarter at 2.317 million. Fixed-line revenue grew year-on-year from RUB13.8 billion (€313 million) to RUB14.4 billion as a result of network modernization and the launch of digital services in the regions as well as upselling of customers to higher tier packages. Residential fixed-line ARPU grew year-on-year from RUB292 to RUB306.

“Our fixed line operations showed strong performance in spite of sustaining competitive pressures,” said CEO Andrei Dubovskov on a conference call after the results. “Key growth drivers included network modernisation in the regions. This enables us to migrate customers from a DSL to FTTB solutions. More than 85% of households based outside of Moscow are now connected via FTTB technology. We also continued to allow our digital TV platform offering up to 160 channels, including HD channels. The platform is already commercially launched in more than 80 cities out of 150 cities where we have presence in the fixed line services.”