Broadcast infrastructure revs remain stable

Terrestrial broadcast network infrastructure operators in Europe have garnered revenues exceeding €2.3 billion for TV and radio transmission in 2020, a stable amount compared to previous years, according to findings from research firm Dataxis. The result excludes revenues from diversifications in OTT, telecommunications and IoT. Subsequently, revenues are expected to remain essentially flat up to 2026.

FM and DAB transmission services paid by radio broadcasters to network infrastructure service providers amounted to €690 million in 2020, or 6 per cent of the €11 billion revenues generated in total by the European radio industry in 2019, the last regular year for the sector. In 2020, the European radio industry revenues decreased by 8 per cent to €10.2 billion due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on radio advertising markets. This percentage varies depending on the country, and ranges from 11 per cent in France to 8 per cent in the UK for instance.

Digital terrestrial television (DTT) transmission revenues exceeded €1.6 billion in 2020. In Europe, DTT access is widespread in only four countries, which consequently represent two-third of the transmission market: the UK, France, Spain and Italy.

At the end of 2020, the share of households relying on digital terrestrial TV only for their main TV set reached 59.4 per cent in Spain, 58.5 per cent in Italy, 32.3 per cent in the UK, and only 21.5 per cent in France.

Moreover, in France, the figure includes 6 per cent of households receiving a DTT offer via the antenna service of SFR cable TV, and 1.4 per cent via Canal+ pay DTT, that is, less than 400,000 subscribers at the end of 2020. The share of DTT-only FTA households is therefore closer to 14 per cent of TV households in France. The French TV broadcasters, essentially France Télévisions, TF1, M6 and Canal+, spend more than €200 million per year to terrestrial networks TDF and Towercast to reach a decreasing number of households, mostly located in rural areas and often retired. This cost currently represents €3 per month and per DTT user in the country. In the UK it reaches lower levels at €2.40, in Italy €2.85 and in Spain €1.60. Advanced Television