European Pay-TV Base Reaches 73 Million

MILAN: As at the end of 2010, 42 percent of Western European homes subscribed to a multichannel pay-TV service, according to the e-Media Institute, with the sub base up 11 percent to 73 million since 2008.

In the same period, the analogue TV penetration fell from 40 percent to 18 percent; 31 million homes still need to make the switch to digital TV. The data also indicates that average pay-TV sub growth will fall to between 4 percent and 5 percent from 2011 to 2014. The number of pay-TV subs in Western Europe will reach 93.4 million by 2014, a 52.7-percent penetration rate.