The dominant operator for the first time revealed average user revenues for its NOW broadband television service, which apparently justify its set-top-box giveaway programme as more than half of its subscribers are paying for services.
The figures show that 53 per cent of PCCW's 361,000 customers paid extra fees above basic internet connection charges - at an average of $105 per month - to view content.
While still lagging pay-television market leader i-Cable, which has 702,000 users paying an average $225 a month, PCCW's performance appears to justify the investment in a service that offers only a limited number of channels priced cheaply on an individual basis.
'TV is the future for telecoms operators, not old local phone lines,' said PCCW chief financial officer Alex Arena, adding that 85 per cent of the company's new broadband customers were NOW subscribers.
Telecommunications companies worldwide are looking for ways to protect their traditional fixed-line businesses from the impact of rival technologies such as voice-over internet protocol (VoIP). Mainland carriers China Netcom and China Telecom are aggressively developing their broadband television services to fend off the emerging challenge.
While pay-television was instrumental in increasing the number of PCCW's broadband customers - up 13 per cent to 796,000 last year - it was unable to prevent earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) at its core telecommunications business from dropping 19 per cent to $6.73 billion due to the decline in fixed-line and international call services.