O2 has hailed the role of premium sports content as the Czech telco registered a significant year-on-year increase in subscribers for its pay-television service.
O2’s results for the third quarter of the current financial year detailed that O2 TV had 673,000 registered subscribers, a 22 per cent increase when compared to the same period in 2017.
O2 struck several key sports rights deals in the third quarter, including extending its rights to football’s Uefa Champions League, from 2018-19 to 2020-21, and the domestic First League, from 2018-19 to 2021-22.
O2 also acquired rights to the Extraliga, the top tier of domestic ice hockey, from 2018-19 to 2022-23.
Commenting on the results, Jindrich Fremuth, chief executive and chairman of O2 Czech Republic, said: “I am glad that our decision to bring to the customers the most attractive sports content – the First League, the Uefa Champions League and the domestic ice hockey league, has provided positive results already in the first months.
“The number of customers for our traditional monthly O2 TV tariffs increased by more than 20,000 in the last three months, the same as in the previous three quarters.”