Vodafone sees big losses in TV base

Vodafone has lost 300,000 TV customers in the year to March, with its biggest market, Germany, and second biggest TV market, Spain, contributing to the decline.

The telco had 18.2 million TV customers at the end of its fiscal fourth quarter. The number of TV homes in Germany stood at under 13.2 million, down from 13.4 million a year earlier and down from 13.3 million at the end of 2022.

Vodafone España had 1.5 million TV customers at the end of March, down from 1.6 million a year earlier.

The declines, along with a fall in TV numbers in Italy and eastern Europe, were slightly offset by a gain in Portugal.

The decline in Germany was particularly marked in the fourth quarter, where Vodafone lost 133,000 TV customers. The performance of the company in Spain improved on previous quarters, with a loss of only 6,000 subscribers.

Vodafone blamed the decline in TV numbers in Germany on reduced retail activity during the COVID-19 pandemic and on a loss of broadband customers losses due to changes in the telecommunications law. Housing groups in Germany are no longer able to bundle broadband access services with home rental fees.

The company did point to a healthy rise in its converged customer base, which rose by 718,000 to 2.4 million. Vodafone Deutschland’s GigaKombi products allow customers to combined mobile, landline, broadband and TV subscriptions in one monthly fee.

TV losses in Spain – amounting to 88,000 over the course of the year – were attributed to intense competition in the market.

CEO Nick Read expressed satisfaction with the company’s overall full-year results, with saw revenues grow by 4% to €45.6 billion and adjusted EBITDAaL grow by 5% to €15.2 billion.

Read said the company was “focused on improving the commercial performance in Germany” but noted that the company was “not immune to the macroeconomic challenges in Europe and Africa”.