Satellite and cable TV reception in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East has grown nearly 9 percent since spring 2008 to 210.7 million homes, an increase of 17 million homes, according to new survey findings from Eutelsat.
Eutelsat, which released the highlights of its survey of satellite and cable homes in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East in mid-September, found that satellite and cable homes accounted for 58.4 percent of the total 360.5 million TV homes covered in the survey, up from 54.6 percent in 2008.
The findings show that satellite reception (direct-to-home and satellite master antenna TV) is driving growth. Satellite reception grew at nearly twice the rate of the overall growth, climbing by 16 percent to 129.3 million homes compared to 111.5 million in 2008.
Other key findings include the following:
- Satellite and cable homes in Central and Eastern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East continue to show double-digit growth, increasing in Central and Eastern Europe by 16.7 percent and in North Africa and the Middle East by 15.3 percent.
- 58.9 percent of TV homes in Western Europe are satellite or cable homes, which is stable from 2008. In Central and Eastern Europe, satellite or cable homes accounted for 50.9 percent of TV homes, up from 43.6 percent in 2008, while North Africa and the Middle East also increased to 69.2 percent compared to 61.9 percent in 2008.
- Satellite reception has grown in the two years since the last survey by 16 percent from 111.5 million homes in 2008. Cable penetration decreased by 1.8 percent to 85.2 million homes from 86.8 million in 2008.
- While Western Europe, as a more established market for satellite reception, saw a 5.8 percent growth rate, double-digit growth was recorded in other regions, notably North Africa and the Middle East, which saw 16 percent growth in satellite reception to 48.7 million homes from 42 million, and in Eastern Europe, which climbed by 44 percent to 26.2 million homes from 18.2 million.
