IPTV To Top Cable Subs in 2026

The number of IPTV subscribers worldwide will overtake cable TV customers in 2026, according to new data from Digital TV Research.

Between 2021 and 2026, IPTV will add 63 million subs to reach 398 million, ahead of digital cable’s 389 million. “The main reason for this is China, where the huge shift from cable TV to IPTV will continue,” says Simon Murray, principal analyst at Digital TV Research.

By 2026, China will have 226 million IPTV customers, with 172 million in the rest of the world, after having added 19 million since 2021. In the same period, it will shed 39 million cable TV subs to reach 89 million.

By 2026 there will be 1.01 billion pay-TV subs worldwide, a 13 million gain, with almost a third in China at 315 million. About half of the world’s pay-TV customers will be in China and India.