Digital TV Homes in Sub-Saharan Africa to Triple

LONDON: Digital penetration is expected to exceed half the TV households in Sub-Saharan Africa in the near future, according to a new report from Digital TV Research.

The switchover from analogue terrestrial will account for much of this growth, with more than two-thirds of TV homes receiving DTT signals by 2020. This is up from fewer than a fifth at the end of 2013. Around 28 percent of TV households will have satellite dishes (pay and free TV combined) in 2020.

Sub-Saharan Africa is forecast to add 20 million TV households between 2013 and 2020, to reach 68 million. This means that there are, and will continue to be, more than 100 million homes without a TV set. TV penetration of total households will only reach 38.4 percent by 2020.

Sub-Saharan pay-TV revenues are expected to reach $5.35 billion in 2020, up by 69 percent from $3.17 billion in 2013 and triple the $1.8 billion recorded in 2010. Satellite TV accounted for nearly all of the 2013 total, but pay DTT will make gains, contributing $742 million in 2020. Competition and take-up of the cheaper DTT packages will force ARPU down in most countries.

Simon Murray, principal analyst at Digital TV Research, said: “This reveals the long-term potential for the region, with plenty of growth expected beyond the forecast period. The construction of next generation broadband networks will ensure that satellite TV and DTT will not be the only growth areas.”