Solon Survey of European Cable Communication 2012

For the fifth time, Solon publishes the largest strategy and benchmarking study on European cable operators. It shows that cable operators remain optimistic about revenue growth and see broadband, mobile and B2B as their largest opportunities. European cable operators participating in this year’s survey are forecasting a revenue growth of over five per cent per year until 2014 and further EBITDA margin expansion by two percentage points up to 48% on average during the same period.

The survey also highlights an important trend – for the first time, cable operators forecast a declining basic TV penetration while the pay-TV penetration is forecast to continue to grow. Next-generation TV services are cited as the main tool to protect the TV customer base of cable operators. Major elements of future TV services include multi-screen, TV-everywhere and next-generation STBs. In addition, cable operators highlight the importance of turning OTT from a threat into an opportunity.

“TV customers increasingly prefer tailor-made video offerings rather than 20-30 analog channels. TV customers look for HD TV, digital recorders as well as movies and TV series on demand. This is the reason why 86% of participating cable CEOs put next-generation-TV on top of their strategic agenda”, explains Christian Teichmann, Managing Director at Solon in London and responsible for the study.

The survey is based on the feedback of C-Level executives at 14 leading European cable operators servicing 25 million customers. The survey and press release are available for download. For further information, please contact us.

Solon Survey of European Cable Communication 2012 report