More and more Italians are opting for a subscription to a pay-TV service, with live Italian league football being the main crowd-puller, followed by movies and news/current affairs. Latest figures show that the Christmas season as well as the first half of January brought in 120,000 to 130,000 new subscribers to Stream and Telepiù, the two Italian pay-TV platforms, bringing the total number of subscribers to 2.5 million.

Telepiù in January reported 60,000 to 70,000 new subscribers, a figure matched by Stream. The total pay-TV figure includes both analogue and digital subscribers. Over Christmas, Telepiù reported an impressive increase of 4,000 new subscribers a day, while Stream, whose figures include the first weeks of January, signed up around 1,800. The number of subscribers to Telepiù’s digital service is close to a million, with 500,000 new subscribers signed only during the course of last year. The number of pay-per-view orders has reached the two million mark, with 75 per cent for movies, with the rest divided up among football and Formula 1. Pay-TV figures are destined to continue to rise, with both operators trying to respond adequately to the level of requests.

In order to catch up on Telepiù, which several months ago launched the first adult PPV service in Italy, Stream is considering doing likewise. Negotiations are currently going on with leading adult movie producer Riccardo Schicchi which could see the addition of soft and hardcore content on Stream’s digital platform. However, it seems that Stream is waiting for the legislative go-ahead, in the form of the latest broadcasting bill (DDL 1138) which, once approved, will enable the transmission of adult programming exclusively on scrambled channels (from 2230 hours onwards). In the meantime, Stream is putting the last touches to its parental control system, which will be based on a personal code, which will prevent minors from accessing this type of programming.

Telecom Italia CEO Roberto Colaninno said on January 30 the pay-TV joint venture was a good opportunity and that Telecom did not plan to sell its stake, dismissing rumours of a possible change of Stream’s shareholding structure. “For us Stream represents an important strategic investment; we will not sell it,” Colaninno told a financial convention in Rome. He admitted the loss-making venture had problems but said: “We will take action to improve the management.” Telecom and Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. each have 35 per cent of Stream, Italian media group Cecchi Gori has an 18 per cent stake, while the remaining 12 per cent stake is held by SDS, a consortium of Italian football teams.