EMEA Leading Growth in Global Pay-TV Subs

LONDON: Global pay-TV subscriptions were up 5.2 percent year on year, according to the latest Multiscreen Index published by informitv, which shows that services in Europe, the Middle East and Africa gained the most subs.

The Index shows a 1.4 percent increase in digital television subscriber numbers across 100 leading pay-television services around the world in the first quarter of 2014. Collectively, these services gained 4.17 million video customers over three months (to March) and 17.43 million year on year.

Services in EMEA gained the most subscribers, adding 340,000 subs in three months. Satellite services made the greatest gains over the quarter, ahead of telco networks, while operators in India accounted for most of the gains for cable. Sixty-five percent of pay-TV services in the Index now deliver to multiple screens in addition to the traditional TV, including phones, tablets and other network-connected devices.

Two thirds of services in the Index reported net subscriber gains. The ten services with the largest gains added 2.45 million video customers over the quarter. The ten reporting the largest losses collectively lost 0.28 million video customers in three months. (The reported gains do not include substantial growth for services in China, for which reliable figures are unavailable.)

The top ten services in the U.S. that report subscriber numbers added 314,300 digital video customers in the first quarter of 2014. Strong gains by the telco networks over the year offset losses by some cable companies. In the U.S., Comcast shed 218,000 subscribers compared to the prior year, while DIRECTV added 160,000—these two represent the services with the most subscribers globally, at 22.6 million and 20.27 million, respectively. Third is Dish TV in India, which added 700,000 subs year on year for a total of 11.4 million. Sky in the U.K. and Ireland added 222,000 for a total of 10.61 million subs, followed by Free in France, with 5.71 million subscribers and a year-on-year addition of 255,000. AT&T U-verse in the U.S. added 887,000 subscribers year on year, ranking sixth on the Multiscreen Index tracker with 5.64 million subscribers. Virgin Media in the U.K., which is tenth on the Index, lost 33,500 subs, with a total subscriber base of 3.75 million.

“The informitv Multiscreen Index shows continued growth in pay-TV subscriptions worldwide,” said Dr. William Cooper, the founder and chief executive of informitv. “Across the hundred services in the Index, net subscriber gains far exceed net losses.”