National Regulatory Agency for Electronic Communications and Information Technology of the Republic of Moldova

The statistical data on the recent developments of the public pay TV service market (cable and IP TV) in 2015, published on the official website of the National Regulatory Agency for Electronic Communications and Information Technology (ANRCETI) show that in one year, the number of subscribers to the digital pay TV service increased by 5 thousand (+3,8%) and exceeded 138,1 thousand, which is more than half of the total number of subscribers to pay TV service.

According to the published data, in 2015 the total number of pay TV subscribers increased slightly by 0,3% up to 274,9 thousand. 75% from the total of pay TV subscribers are cable TV subscribers and 25% – IP TV subscribers. More than half of all subscribers receive digital TV programs via cable networks, and the rest – via IP TV.

The data submitted to ANRCETI by 83 active pay TV service providers show that the situation in this market last year differed: the IP TV segment continued growing, while the cable TV segment – decreasing. The number of IP TV subscribers increased, compared to 2014, by 6,1 thousand (+9,8%) and made about 68.8 thousand and revenues increased by 2,8 mil. lei (+5%) to over 58,1 mil. lei. Meanwhile, the number of cable TV subscribers fell by 3,1 thousand (-1.5%) down to 206,1 thousand, while the revenues dropped by 9,5 mil. lei (-9%) down to 97,5 mln. lei. Following this development, the average revenue per user (ARPU) of paid TV service increased by 0,9% up to 48,2 lei.

The reason behind the reduction of the cable TV segment, as explained by ANRCETI, is the changing preferences of the users of these services. They migrate to alternative variants of watching TV content: via Internet, satellite and IP TV, which offer digital TV, unlike a large part of network cable TV operators currently broadcasting in analog format.

According to ANRCETI estimations, in 2015, the market shares by turnover looked as follows: JSC Moldtelecom – 28,9%, LLC Sun Communications – 28 %, LLC TV BOX – 8,1%, LLC AMT – 3,7%, the other 79 providers joint share – 31,3%.

Additional information about the development of the pay TV market in 2015 are available on ANRCETI website, Statistical Data Section.

March 15, 2015