A new report from Digital TV Research indicates that while two-thirds of the world’s pay TV operators will gain subscribers between 2019 and 2025, growth will be led by companies outside of the current top 50.
The Global Pay TV Operator Forecasts report covers 502 operators across 135 countries and estimates that 59 per cent will also increase their revenues over the same period. The report suggests that while the top 50 operators accounted for 46 per cent of the world’s pay TV subscribers by the end of 2019, the top ten will lose subscribers over the next five years, with the next 40 operators flat. Operators beyond these positions will gain subscribers.
“By [the end of 2019], 13 operators had more than ten million paying subscribers. This will reach 14 operators by 2025,” explained Simon Murray, principal analyst at Digital TV Research.
Winners and losers
According to the report, eight operators will add more than a million subscribers between 2019 and 2025. China Unicom will win the most subs (19.96 million), followed by China Telecom (18.52 million).
Eight operators will lose a million or more subscribers between 2019 and 2025, led by China Radio and TV with a 37 million loss. The next five losers will all be from the US.
The report covers 502 operators with 732 platforms [134 digital cable, 118 analogue cable, 283 satellite, 140 IPTV and 57 DTT] across 135 countries.
