Over 3.5 Million UK Homes Now Have Cable

Over 3.5 million homes across the UK now subscribe to cable TV, an increase of 8.8% on the same period last year, according to the Independent Television Commission’s (ITC) cable statistics report for the second quarter of 2001.

According to the figures 15% of UK TV households now have cable TV, which has increased its penetration by 2.3 percentage points to 28.9% of homes passed and marketed.

The report shows that over 1.5 million of those who subscribe to cable TV are receiving a digital service and over 76,000 cable modems are now being used to provide high speed internet access. The increase in the digital conversion process has also resulted in cable’s share of the digital pay TV market to verge on 20% by 1 July 2001.

According to the ITC growth in the uptake of satellite TV has been 2.4 times higher than that for cable TV. Growth in digital terrestrial television (DTT) has also exceeded growth in cable TV by 5.3 times.

Cable TV’s share of net additions has remained persistently lower than for satellite TV and DTT say the authority. As a result cable TV’s share of the pay TV market has declined by just over 3 percentage points year on year, standing at 36% at 1 July 2001.

ITC: 020 7306 7743 www.itc.org.uk

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