The number of cable homes in Europe reached 69.2 million in 2017, or 36.3% of all TV households, in 2017. This, according to the European Broadband Cable Yearbook from IHS Markit and Cable Europe, was the highest number since 2009, when the figure stood at 70 million.
Key findings of the new 2018 edition of the Yearbook, which is the only industry report supported by Cable Europe, include the following:
Total revenue generating units (RGUs) rose 2 % year on year to 127.5 million, largely driven by an increase in internet subscriptions
At the end of 2017, cable customers in Europe subscribed to an average of 1.8 services.
TV services accounted for 46% of cable TV revenue in 2017, followed by internet with 35% and telephony with 19%.
Germany continued to be the largest cable TV market in Europe, with 18.7 million subscribers, which was more than three times the number of unique subscribers in the next biggest markets of Romania, the UK and Poland
Annual total cable revenue continued the steady growth path set in 2010, reaching €25.9 billion last year, up 2% compared to 2016. In terms of revenue growth, internet was the best-performing cable category, with revenue rising 4% to €9 billion in 2017.