New figures from Digital TV Research suggest pay-TV in Eastern Europe will lose 5 million subscribers between 2020 and 2026, with total numbers dropping to 78.18 million.
Many of those viewers are likely to move to digital instead, with the analysts predicting digital pay-TV subscribers will increase by nearly 6 million between 2020 and 2026 to 76 million.
Simon Murray, principal analyst at Digital TV Research, said: “Most of the remaining analog cable TV subscribers are paying very little to receive very little. These homes are reluctant or unable to upgrade to more expensive digital pay-TV.”
According to the research, 63 per cent of Eastern European homes will subscribe to pay-TV in 2026; down from 66 per cent in 2020. Digital pay TV penetration will climb from 56 to 62 per cent over the same period.
