Globally, IPTV is gaining market share year-over-year while the rest of the pay-TV platforms are slowly contracting, according to ABI Research.
The worldwide pay-TV market grew at a steady pace in 2012 generating $238 billion (€176.02 billion) by end-of-year, up from $223 billion in 2011. The global pay-TV market is expected to generate $304 billion in 2018 with a CAGR of 4%.
Service revenue contributions from cable TV are proving mixed. The Asia-Pacific region saw service revenue growth due to underlying increase in subscriptions. However, cable TV operators in North America are experiencing a decline in service revenue as result of a contracting subscriber base, despite cable TV innovations such as DVR and HDTV.
IPTV service revenue market share increased from 10% in 2011 to 11.5% in 2012. Cable TV market share dropped to 47% in 2012 from 48.5% in 2011 while satellite TV market share dropped around 1%.
“Availability of super-fast broadband networks and bundle offers from telcos over high-speed networks are driving the growth of IPTV adoption. IPTV market share is expected to increase to 18% in 2018, to generate $53 billion in revenue,” according to Jake Saunders, VP and practice director of core forecasting.
“Based on ABI Research’s global Pay-TV market share analysis, satellite giant DirecTV ranks top in terms of Pay-TV service revenue across all platforms. In the global IPTV sector, Verizon is the top ranked IPTV operator with the highest service revenue,” said Khin Sandi Lynn, research analyst.