MRG: Global Pay-TV Subs Hit 800 Million

SCOTTSDALE: The number of worldwide pay-TV subscriber households grew by 8 percent in 2012, according to the Multimedia Research Group (MRG), primarily led by demand in emerging markets.

The total number of pay-TV subscribers—cable, satellite and IPTV—now tops 800 million households.

MRG reports that in the cable segment, the majority of global subscriber growth was in Asia, driven in particular by China, India and Vietnam. Other regions, notably North America and Western Europe, are seeing little to no growth in the number of cable TV households. On a global scale, cable subs grew modestly in 2012, to just above 520 million.

Global satellite TV service subscribers had strong growth last year, MRG finds. Demand for pay-TV satellite services in countries like Russia and India surged. The total number of pay-TV satellite households is now above 202 million, with an annual growth rate of 12 percent.

The demand for IPTV services also picked up in 2012. Subs grew by 36 percent. Indeed, subscriber growth was strong in all geographic regions. Worldwide IPTV households now total more than 77 million.

The Asia-Pacific region has driven most of the subscriber growth overall for the year, as 40 million new households in the region signed up for pay-TV services. There are now more than 445 million total pay-TV households in the Asia-Pacific region. Pay-TV subs in North America were relatively flat, finishing at just under 113 million.