IHS: Cord-Cutting in European Pay-TV Markets ‘Undeniable’

LONDON: While cord-cutting has largely been regarded as a U.S. phenomenon, new findings from research firm IHS Technology suggest that it is now hitting European pay-TV markets.

IHS reports that 12 countries across Europe witnessed a decline in overall pay-TV uptake in the first quarter of 2014: Belgium, Denmark, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova and Poland. Of these 12, six are seeing their second quarter of declines. This includes two of the largest Eastern European markets: Poland and the Czech Republic.

Italy is the only market among the five big European territories to suffer pay-TV downturn, though, as France, Germany, Spain and the U.K. all continue to grow at above the European average.

While one might assume OTT services to be the likely cause of this cord-cutting, Erik Brannon, a senior analyst at IHS, says this may not be the case. "There is no obvious relationship between the markets now seeing a sustained decline and the entry of larger OTT players like Netflix," Brannon noted. "Further quarters will tell, but the current trend is likely a combination of factors including an over-hang from the recent economic downturn and the wider impact of new technology in the home broadening the consumption choices of the average consumer."