DTT Boosts Digital TV Gains in Latin America

April 2, 2014 World Screen Top Stories

LONDON: Digital TV penetration in Latin America is expected to reach 94.5 percent by 2020, according to Digital TV Research, with DTT set to provide half of the additional homes added in a ten-year period.

Digital TV was at 18.1-percent penetration at the end of 2010, rising to just over the halfway mark by end-2014 and onto 94.5 percent by 2020. This means that 132 million digital TV households will be added between 2010 and 2020, bringing the total to 157 million. DTT is expected to contribute half of the additional digital TV homes to be added in this period between 2010 and 2020.

Brazil, Mexico and Argentina dominate the region. Brazil will add 37 million digital TV households between 2013 and 2020, with Mexico contributing an extra 15 million and Argentina nearly 7 million more.

Nearly 14.4 million pay satellite TV households will be added between 2013 and 2020, with 3.1 million more in 2014 alone. Pay satellite TV penetration will grow from 9.6 percent in 2010 to 21.1 percent by end-2014 and onto 25.8 percent in 2020.

Pay satellite TV is the leading digital platform, but primary free-to-air DTT will overtake it in 2015. The number of primary DTT homes will rocket from 4.3 million at end-2010 (3-percent penetration) to 27.1 million in 2014 (18 percent) and onto 71.1 million by 2020 (42.7 percent).

Pay-TV penetration will rise, but not as dramatically as digital TV penetration. Overall pay-TV penetration will reach 53 percent by 2020, up from 41 percent at end-2013 and 29 percent at end-2010. This means 28 million more pay TV homes between 2013 and 2020, taking the total to 89 million.

Pay-TV revenues in Latin America will be $4.5 billion higher in 2020 ($24.7 billion total) than in 2013. Satellite TV will continue to be the largest pay-TV platform, with revenues reaching $17.6 billion in 2020, up from $14.2 billion in 2013. Cable TV revenues will be $6.1 billion in 2020, up from $4.8 billion in 2013.

The report, Digital TV Latin America, covers 19 countries in the region.