In the year following its acquisition of GVT, Telefónica has seen growth during Q1 2016 in its pay-TV business, driven by premium accesses in IPTV and interactive direct-to-home (DTH).
According to the telco’s quarterly report, the growing fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) networks across Brazil, to which GVT has contributed significantly, is resulting in growth for both its broadband and pay-TV operationsAs of March 2016, broadband accesses had reached 7.2 million, with fibre connections accounting for 54.2% of the subscriber base, an annual growth of 12.6%. Pay-TV accesses totalled 1.8 million in 1Q16, up 4.9% compared to the same period in 2015.
Although only up by 0.6%, the telco’s net operating revenues in Q1 neared $3 billion, $1.2 billion of which were generated by fixed operations.
In a Brazilian market entering a period of stagnation, and even seeing falling pay-TV figures, Telefónica is counting on its new Vivo commercial operation (in which GVT is now completely integrated) to drive revenues.
Indeed, the telco is claiming the successful execution of key projects for Vivo, including the launch of the national 3P portfolio and 4P pilot.
