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Number of Premiere subscribers breaks the three-million barrier
3,010,405 subscribers as of 30 September 2004 / Record increase of 117,000 subscribers in 3rd quarter / Kofler: "We’ve reached a critical mass for profitable growth"
Munich, 4 October 2004. Premiere has for the first time in its history more than three million subscribers. Following a record increase in the 3rd quarter of 2004, the pay-TV provider had 3,010,405 subscribers as of 30 September. "Premiere has crossed a border which is of enor-mous psychological and commercial significance,” says the company’s CEO, Dr. Georg Kofler. "With three million subscribers, we have reached a critical mass for profitable growth. From now on, an increasing proportion of revenues will flow straight to the bottom line, giving us more scope to develop our business further."
Premiere was able to jump over the three-million mark by a record net subscriber growth (new subscriptions minus subscriber churn), which grew by 116,902 in the period from July to Sep-tember (3rd quarter 2004). This is 66 per cent higher than the equivalent figure for the 3rd quarter 2003, which was until now Premiere’s best-ever result for a 3rd quarter, with a net increase of 70,558 subscribers.
Premiere: Setting the trend for digital TV in Germany and Austria
Premiere continues to be the main reason why viewers are attracted to digital TV. Of the roughly six million digital TV households in Germany and Austria, over half are Premiere subscribers. A further 20 per cent of these have their own digital receiver which are Premiere enabled. "To date, Premiere has invested more in the development of digital TV than any other company in Germany – and furthermore, without a single Euro subsidy," states Kofler. "Now Premiere will be the one to benefit more strongly from the dynamic growth in the digital TV market." Kofler expects the development of digital TV to be boosted in the run-up to the 2006 football World Cup in Germany. More and more industries and businesses are getting actively involved in digital TV marketing, from hardware manufacturers to cable network operators. "Premiere is driving the digital TV market by opening it up to more competition,” says Kofler. The old Premiere tried to control everything itself, from digital receivers and the encryption system to the TV magazine. As Kofler stresses, "The new Premiere, by contrast, is concentrating on its core competencies, on programming and marketing, leaving the other areas to an open market.” Consumers now have a choice of a large number of Premiere enabled digital receivers. The adoption of Nagravision provides a reliable encryption system, one of the fundamental requirements for establishing new business models for subscription and pay-per-view TV. The phasing out of Premiere’s own TV magazine has been the main driver in creating a new market for TV guides, which are now devoting a greater number of pages in unprece-dented quality to Premiere and other digital TV programmes.
Kofler also sees the jump over the three-million mark as a clear sign of a new public awareness. "Digital TV and Premiere are gradually gaining their deserved position as a normal part of the German and Austrian media landscape." The main reason for subscribing to Premiere lies, as before, in the range of films and live sporting events. Over 80 per cent of Premiere customers have opted for one of the premium packages: PREMIERE FILM, PREMIERE SPORT, PREMIERE SUPER or PREMIERE KOMPLETT. Within a short time of taking out their main subscription, an increasing number of Premiere subscribers are signing up for further programmes in addition to their original subscription. For example, more than 1.2 million subscribers have taken out PREMIERE PLUS, a supplementary package offering 15 theme channels, on top of their main subscription.
Stable subscriber base enables programming to be continually strengthened
With its choice of a total of 27 TV channels, Premiere is in excellent competitive shape in terms of programming. Kofler: "Negotiations are under way to acquire the rights to certain theme channels that we would like to add to our portfolio. But our main emphasis lies on strengthening our existing programmes." Only last Thursday Premiere signed a new five-year contract to broadcast the German Ice Hockey League (DEL) live and exclusively. In the same week, Premiere extended its coverage of the qualifying rounds of the 2006 World Cup to a total of 160 games, by acquiring the right to matches taking place in Asia.
From 1 October 2004 onwards, Premiere is offering movie buffs a new, more varied selection of pay-per-view films. PREMIERE DIREKT now allows viewers to select from among five films every day, rather than three as before, which they can watch at the time of their choice. On 1 November, Premiere will be launching its first subscription package specially for kids, PREMIERE KINDER, which comprises the DISNEY CHANNEL, FOX KIDS and JUNIOR. Subscribers are supplied with a separate smart card which restricts reception to the Premiere children’s channels only – the best ever protection for children. PREMIERE START, the Premiere starter package, has also been given a facelift. As of December 11, PREMIERE START will show even more of the kind of TV that makes Premiere so attractive: recent box-office successes without commercial breaks, and attractive sporting events.
Leading the field in technological innovations: TV is better and more convenient with Premiere Technological innovation represents another aspect of Premiere’s pioneering role in digital TV. This November, the company will present the first digital video recorder which is Premiere en-abled. It will be followed in the 2nd quarter of 2005 by models with greater storage capacity, opening up completely new horizons in the pay-per-view business. On 1 November 2005, Premiere plans to launch its high-definition TV (HDTV) service in Germany and Austria. Kofler: "There is no more striking or vivid way to experience the new dimension of digital TV. HDTV will be as much of a revolution as the introduction of colour TV. This gives Premiere an enormous opportunity to immediately differentiate its products from those of traditional TV companies”.
Premiere key numbers
• 3.01 million subscribers
• 8.5 million viewers
• € 963 million annual revenues (2003)
• 2,117 employees
• 27 TV channels offering films, sport, documentaries, music and family
entertainment
• 21 radio channels: music for all tastes
• 24,4 per cent TV market share in Premiere households
(Basis: Germany, 1.1.-30.9.2004)
• 230,000 hours of programmes per year (excluding pay-per-view on
PREMIERE DIREKT)
• 4,000 hours of live sport coverage per year
• 300 German TV film premieres annually
Queries to:
Dirk Heerdegen
Head of Communications / Spokesman
Phone: +49 (0) 89/99 58-63 50
dirk.heerdegen@premiere.de
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