Global Pay-TV Market to Add 81 Million Subs

Digital TV Research has forecast an addition of 81 million pay-TV subscribers globally between 2018 and 2024, up by 8 percent.

Based on forecasts for 138 countries, the number of pay-TV subs passed 1 billion in 2018.

Simon Murray, principal analyst at Digital TV Research, said: “Every quarter we hear of alarming cord-cutting in the U.S. This will continue, with the U.S. losing nearly 10 million subscribers between 2018 and 2024. About 28 of the 138 countries will lose subscribers between 2018 and 2024.

“However, it is not all bad news—110 countries will gain subscribers. The Asia Pacific will contribute six of the top ten countries by pay-TV subscriber additions. From the 81 million additional pay-TV subs between 2018 and 2024, 29 million will come from India, 16 million from China and 8 million from Indonesia.”

China is expected to continue to supply about a third of the world’s pay-TV subscribers, with 356 million expected by 2024. India will bring in another 17 percent of the total by 2024, at 187 million. So, China and India together will provide half the world’s pay-TV subscribers by 2024.

IPTV is the leading pay-TV platform, poised to add 100 million subscribers between 2018 and 2024 to take its total to 357 million. Satellite TV and pay DTT will each grow by 7 million subs between 2018 and 2024. Digital cable TV will add 18 million subs between 2018 and 2024, but analog cable TV will lose 62 million subs—meaning a net loss for cable. Excluding analog cable TV, the growth for digital pay-TV is “really impressive,” according to the report, surging from 380 million subs in 2010 onto 954 million at the end of 2018 and on to 1.1 billion by 2024.