Americas Post First Quarterly Loss in Multiscreen Index

LONDON: The latest informitv Multiscreen Index shows an increase of 4 million pay-TV subscribers globally in the second quarter, though the Americas had its first quarterly loss.

The October issue finds that 25 of the 100 services in the Multiscreen Index reported net TV-subscriber losses in the second quarter, while 66 reported year on year gains. The top 10 services in the U.S. collectively lost 663,000 television subscribers in the quarter and were down by 437,100 year on year. Across the Americas, there was a net decline of 29,000 subscribers, which is the first regional loss in the Multiscreen Index.

Meanwhile, services in the Europe, the Middle East and Africa region gained 83,000 subscribers, with the top 10 gaining just 125,000 between them. The Asia-Pacific region gained 3.46 million subscribers, with the top 10 services adding 2.76 million, led by six operators in India claiming collective gains of more than 2 million.

“The Multiscreen Index shows that over 12 months the top 10 services in the Asia-Pacific region claimed gains of 13.76 million television subscribers, which is an 18-percent increase,” said informitv analyst Dr. Sue Farrell.

“More services are gaining rather than losing subscribers,” added Dr. William Cooper, the editor of the informitv Multiscreen Index. “Even in the United States, the year on year loss across the top 10 services is less than half a percent of their combined subscriber base.”