Naspers, which owns the Multichoice pay-television platforms in South and Sub-Saharan Africa, reported pay-television revenues of R8.019 billion ($1.09 billion) for the six months to end-September, up 15 per cent on the same period the previous year. Operating profit, before amortisation and other gains and losses, was up 28 per cent to Rs2.694 billion.
Growth was driven by the addition of 352,000 gross subscribers in the period, with subscribers in South Africa up 25-per-cent year-on-year to 2.639 million and Sub-Sahara up 24 per cent to 1.03 million.
But growing sports rights costs and decoder subsidies held margins back. Supersport last week renewed English Premier League rights in Sub-Saharan Africa for the next three seasons, two weeks after extending its deal for South African rights. Supersport paid big increases in both cases.
Naspers’ pay-television programming costs rose 23 per cent to Rs R2.9 billion between March and September, up from Rs2.366 billion in the previous year. For the year to March 2009, programming costs rose 35 per cent to Rs5.018 billion.