Pay TV boom

With the goal of becoming Latin America’s biggest pay-TV provider, Telefonica last week announced plans to launch video services throughout Central America – with the exception of Honduras – as well as Ecuador and Uruguay.

Pay-TV is the latest front in a battle for telecom supremacy with Mexico’s Claro, in areas which range from mobile operations to fixed-line Voice-over-Internet-Protocol phones.

In relation to pay-TV, Madrid-based Telefonica will concentrate on Video-On-Demand, as well as real-time channels, offering both proprietary and third-party content.

Telefonica currently offers pay-TV service in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru and Venezuela.

In addition, Telefónica Movistar customers can now send and receive data and voz communication in other Latin America countries in which they operate, at the same rate as local service.

Claro offers the same plan, including roaming in the United States and Canada, as well as pay-TV service in the region.

Claro - which in Mexico operates as America Movil - in 2014 had revenues of $77 billion, of which 9% came from pay-TV, while 62% came from wireless voice and data.

Telefonica last year had revenues of €50 billion from 340 million customers worldwide, including 5 million pay-TV subscribers.