German Pay-TV Revenues to Pass €3 Billion

BERLIN/MUNICH: Revenue from pay TV and paid VOD in Germany increased 12 percent year-on-year to €2.49 billion ($2.74 billion) in 2015, with a gain of 8 to 11 percent forecast for this year, according to VPRT, the German commercial broadcasters’ association.

In Germany, Austria and Switzerland, pay TV and paid VOD revenue totaled €2.7 billion ($2.97 billion). For 2016, VPRT is forecasting a further rise of 8 to 11 percent in the volume of revenue generated by the pay-TV and paid VOD market to around €2.8 billion ($3.09 billion) in Germany and around €3 billion ($3.31 billion) across the German-speaking territories.

The number of pay-TV offerings that can be subscribed to in Germany has increased to 105 channels, of which 16 are documentary channels, 9 are children’s, 16 are music stations, 21 are sports channels and 43 are dedicated to entertainment programs.

The number of subscribers for pay TV and paid VOD rose by around 6 percent in 2015 to reach a new record of 7.4 million subscribers in Germany and around 8.2 million across the entire German-speaking area. For 2016, VPRT is forecasting further gains in subscribers to 7.8 million subs in Germany and 8.7 million in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Frank Giersberg, member of the board of directors for market and business development at VPRT, said, “Pay TV and paid video-on-demand achieved new record figures in German-speaking territories during last year and are set for further growth in 2016. The key driver behind this development is a rich variety of programs and services, be it documentaries, children’s programs, music, sport or entertainment.”

Carsten Schmidt, CEO of Sky Deutschland, added, “The data presented today by VPRT prove that an increasing number of viewers are prepared to pay for the quality programs offered by pay-TV channels. Sky will continue to encourage this trend by consistently enhancing our offering. By investing in original series productions, technological innovations, such as the introduction of Ultra HD, and in expansion of our channel portfolio—for instance with today’s launch of Sky Arts HD—we are making Sky even more attractive for existing and potential customers. Anyone looking for high-quality, diversified entertainment can’t escape pay TV and Sky.”

Hannes Heyelmann, senior VP and managing director for Central and Eastern Europe and international programming strategy at Turner and chairman of the pay-TV working group at VPRT, commented, “Exclusive content and control of program rights are an important key to success. For this reason, we shall continue to invest strongly in the production of in-house content. This applies both to projects at a local level, such as the six-part miniseries 4 Blocks currently being filmed in Berlin, and to projects realized with Turner U.S. at an international level.”

Katharina Behrends, managing director for German-speaking territories at NBCUniversal International Networks, said, “Pay TV continues to be a strong growth market across the German-speaking territories. Its drivers are very precisely positioned genre channels, each offering exclusive and innovative content of high quality—both linear and nonlinear. In this context, these genre experts take on a ‘curatorial function’ for viewers, the importance of which is increasing amid the diversity of media offerings. NBCUniversal fulfills this function perfectly with its six channel brands 13th Street, Syfy, E! Entertainment, Universal Channel, History and A&E.”

Marco de Ruiter, managing director of FOX Networks Group, commented, “The whole video market is developing rapidly across a range of highly varied platforms. Apart from the high-quality pay-TV offerings and the broad selection provided in the free-TV sector, there are also more and more possibilities to access content on demand via SVOD services. The situation has never been better for viewers and consumers—and we always put the audience first. As Fox Networks Group Germany, we rely on our strong channel brands, Fox and National Geographic, and on our innovative spirit in order to remain successful in a dynamic market.”

Lars Wagner, VP and general manager for Disney channels at The Walt Disney Company GSA, remarked, “Strong brands like Disney are beacons in the TV landscape and actively sought after by viewers. With our three pay-TV channels Disney Junior, Disney XD and Disney Cinemagic, we are excellently positioned and offer a unique, high-quality program for all age groups from preschool children to their grandparents, with TV premieres, popular series and films in a child-safe environment.”

Gottfried Zmeck, CEO of Mainstream Media, said, “Amid the varied concert of internationally oriented genre channels, we regard it as our task to offer subscribers a firm anchor based on local content. With a clear focus on local content, our channels Heimatkanal, GoldStar TV and Romance TV have established themselves as an integral and unmistakeable part of pay TV. Reaches of more than 100,000 viewers at peak times show that the public appreciate this positioning and as a result, older audiences are also able to find a home in the pay-TV sector.”