Telia, the Nordic telecommunications company, experienced a surge in paid streaming video subscribers in the year leading up to March, although its TV and media revenues witnessed a decline during the same period.

As of March, Telia had 832,000 SVOD subscribers, marking an 8.7% increase compared to the previous year. The company managed to add 30,000 SVOD customers in the first quarter across Sweden and Finland.

While the media revenues of Telia dropped by 2.3% to SEK1.9 billion, the adjusted EBITDA surged by 44.5% to negative SEK202 million. The decline in media revenues was attributed to the subdued advertising market in Sweden, with ad revenues plummeting by 6.3%. However, this was partially offset by a 5.2% growth in subscription and other revenue streams.

The increase in earnings was primarily due to reduced content costs, which more than compensated for the decline in service revenue. Patrik Hofbauer, the president and CEO of Telia, stated, ‘We are pleased with the progress in our digital transformation, with growth in streaming consumption, the streaming customer base, and in our digital advertising revenue.’

Overall, Telia witnessed a 2% decrease in revenues to SEK21.3 billion, while the adjusted EBITDA rose by 3.4% to SEK7.1 billion. Hofbauer highlighted the operational momentum in the first quarter, emphasizing growth in all telco businesses and advancements in the TV and Media sector.

Immediately following the quarter, the sale of Telia Denmark was finalized as anticipated, strengthening the company’s balance sheet. The positive trends in NPS and service revenue in the consumer segment were also noted as encouraging signs for the future.