China Cablecom is a joint-venture provider of cable television services in the People's Republic of China, operating in partnership with a local state-owned enterprise  authorized by the PRC government to control the distribution of cable TV services through the deployment of analog and digital cable services.

 

It has acquired a 55 percent economic interest in a cable network in Hubei Province and has announced that its assets in that area include more than 40,000 television subscribers in the period ending March 31, 2010.

 

Cablecom's strategy is to replicate the acquisitions by operating partnership models in other municipalities and provinces and then introducing operating efficiencies and increasing service offerings in the networks in which it operates.

 

With the digital migration in China gaining momentum, China Cablecom is more than ever before committed to its digitalization strategy. This is evident as it moves into the new era of digital TV broadcasting.

 

Since the end of the year 2009, the overall number of digital subscribers registered a 21 percent increase and was considered to be an offshoot of the government mandate to digitalize television nationwide in China.

 

With Hubei adding over 40,000 users during first quarter 2010; it has come to be regarded as one of the top 10 performing cable markets in China that has recorded consistent double-digit growth.

 

It is obvious that the company while adding new users also wants to generate higher revenues by advocating the acceleration of digitalization.

 

For the full year 2010, China Cablecom expects its Hubei assets to reach a total subscriber count of approximately 1,280,000. Hubei Province is regarded as a coastal city and is predicted to reach a digital cable penetration rate of 70 percent by 2012.

 

'This quarter's organic and digital subscriber growth affirms the strength of our cable assets,' Clive Ng, Founder and Executive Chairman of China Cablecom, said.

 

Ng further added that the significant increase reflected the broad appeal of the overall industry as digitalization continued to pick up very rapidly. He said that a more aggressive approach was in the offing and expected that their Hubei assets would reach a 50 percent penetration rate by the end of the year.

 

In conclusion Ng said that the increases in ARPU and organic growth would serve to generate long-term value for the company's shareholders.

 

China Cablecom is an emerging consolidated cable network operator and service provider authorized by the People's Republic of China government to control the distribution of cable TV services through the deployment of analog and digital cable services. China Cablecom now operates 28 cable networks with over 1.67 million paying subscribers.

 

Mini Swamy is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.