DirecTV drives Uruguay's pay-TV sector
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Juan Fernandez Gonzalez
| 21 October 2014
Although third quarter predictions point to a general moderate growth in Latin America's pay-TV market, Uruguay's June results show how the market has rocketed in the country during the first half of the year.


Uruguay, which has over 60% pay-TV penetration, has seen a 10% increased, led by DirecTV, which showed a spectacular 36.5% growth.

According to the latest report from Uruguay's Unidad Reguladora de Servicios de Comunicaciones (URSEC), the country's telecoms regulator, the small South American territory is close to having 700,000 subs, representing a 10.4% growth compared to June 2013.

Although a big slice of the market is occupied by many local cable operators (31%), DirecTV leads the country's pay-TV with a 21% share, followed by Cablevisión (10%) and TCC (8%).

DirecTV also the highest growth rates, from 103,000 subs in 2013 to 142,000 a year later, up 36.5%. Cablevisión (up 9.6%) and TCC (up 9.3%) complete the country's top-three regarding rising numbers.

URSEC's report also noted a big difference between the markets in the capital district and the rest of the country. While in Montevideo most subscribers are shared between large national companies with DirecTV having a secondary position (Tractoral, Bersabel and Riselco lead the market), nearly half of the subscribers in the countryside are distributed among local operators, with DirecTV leading among the larger companies.