Digital+, the direct-to-home (DTH) platform in Spain, announced a subscriber growth for the first time in a number of quarters. At the end of December 2004, the operator had more than 1.65 million subscribers. It increased the number of subscribers by just fewer than 50,000 in the quarter.

Digital+ was created out of the merger between Canal Satelite Digital (CSD) and Via Digital (VD) DTH platforms. Up until September last year, Digital+ had been honoring existing contracts for VD subscribers who were paying low monthly charges. A number of these customers did not then take the option of Digital+ services at higher monthly charges leading to negative subscriber growth until September.

Javier Diez de Polanco, chief executive officer of Sogecable, the owner of the DTH platform, commented, “From September 2004, a month in which the transitional period for Via Digital subscribers ended, we have resumed the net growth in the customer base, showing our forecasts were accurate. We are now starting to enjoy a new trend of growth.”