IPTV surge boosts pay-TV market in Spain

October 1, 2007 – The burgeoning IPTV market in Spain is boosting growth of the overall pay-TV market in the country, according to a new report from the organisation Red.es, part of Spain’s Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Commerce.

Over the past year, pay-TV was found to capture 275,000 new subscribers, reaching a total of 3.5mn, with a penetration rate of 22.3%.  IPTV subscribers now account for 10% of pay-TV subscribers in the country, compared to 3.7% a year ago, while cable and satellite pay-TV have experienced low growth during the same period.  Net spending on pay-TV services reached €190mn in the first quarter of this year, with no growth from the same period of the previous year.

Telefónica’s Imagenio IPTV service accounted for a large part of the growth of IPTV in Spain, and now has 450,000 subscribers.