5 Million UK Homes Now Connected To Cable Services, Says ITC

New quarterly statistics to 1 October 2000 from the Independent Television Commission (ITC) show that more than 5 million homes in the UK now have cable services. Of these, 3.43 million homes take cable TV, although viewers are now choosing fewer premium services.

The number of homes connected to cable has risen 13.6% year on year, from October 1999’s figure of 4.4 million. Penetration has consequently increased from 35.6% in October last year, to 38.6% in October this year.

NTL’s merger with Cable & Wireless (see Government Clears NTL/CWC Merger) has enabled it to finally overtake Telewest in terms of homes passed, as NTL’s new total, including its inheritance from Cable & Wireless, stands at 7.8 million, while Telewest lags behind with 4.5 million. NTL has also retained the higher penetration rate, with 28.2%, followed by Telewest with 25.7%. Bringing up the rear are Eurobell and Atlantic, with 253,000 homes passed and 19% penetration and 97,000 homes passed and 15.3% penetration respectively.

ITC: 020 7255 3000

Subscribers can access ten years of media news and analysis in the Archive