Worldwide Pay-TV Subs Show Q3 Growth

LONDON: The 100 leading pay-TV services globally increased their combined subscriber base by nearly 1 percent in the third quarter, according to the informitv Multiscreen Index.

The services measured by the Multiscreen Index account for around 380 million subscribing homes globally; in Q3, they gained 3.74 million subs. Of the 100 measured, 59 saw net subscriber gains over the three-month period. The top ten services in the U.S., however, recorded a total net loss of 128,400 subscribers, which is just 0.15 percent of their base.

There were small gains across North, Central and South America of 190,000 subs. Services in Europe, the Middle East and Africa added 1.51 million subscribers; in the U.K., 172,000 subs were added. The Asia-Pacific region reported the largest growth, adding 2.03 million homes. This was led by increases in India, which saw 1.27 million additions.

“The number of subscribers across these services has been steadily rising at around 1 percent a quarter,” said Dr. William Cooper, the editor of the informitv Multiscreen Index. “Although it seems like relatively modest growth, the majority of services in the Multiscreen Index are still adding subscribers.”

“77 of the 100 services in the Multiscreen Index now provide some form of multiscreen offering,” added informitv analyst Dr. Sue Farrell. “43 of the top 50 have a multiscreen service.”