Multimedia Polska sees strong TV demand

Polish cable operator Multimedia Polska reported strong demand for its TV services in Q2, but said market conditions would likely not lead to price increases in this segment for another six to 12 months.

Announcing its half-year results, the firm reported a 5% year-on-year increase in video customers in the second quarter at 1.001 million – though this was down by 8,200 subscribers quarter-over-quarter.

“Over 2012 we decided to incentivise some analogue customer groups to migrate to DTV to free up bandwidth capacities for high speed broadband (up to 250 Mbps) hence the temporary stabilization of DTV ARPU,” said Multimedia Polska. It recorded year-on-year declines in revenue per user for ‘blended’ and analogue video customers.

“The failed attempt of nC+ to raise prices has put on hold the idea of immediate price increases in the video segment. We still believe the process is inevitable but will most probably be delayed by 6-12 months,” the firm added.

Basic cable TV revenues were down 6% year-on-year in Q2 to PLN54.3 million (€12.7 million), but DTV and IPTV revenues were up 28% to PLN32.4 million. Overall revenues were up 2% to PLN173.7 million. The firm made a net loss of PLN16 million in the quarter, compared to profit of PLN10.9 million for the same period last year.