The leading pay-TV services added a further 5.11 million subscribers in the last quarter of 2014, a rise of 1.42%.
According to the informitv Multiscreen Index report, the world’s 10 leading pay-TV services added 5.53 million between them during 2014, accessing a combined total of almost 130 million television customers.
Two-thirds of services in the index reported net subscriber gains in the last three months of 2014. Satellite service providers gained the most subscribers, with net additions of 2.71 million, followed by telco television services gaining 1.99 million.
The growth was led by India, where Dish TV, Videocon d2h and Airtel Digital TV adding over a million new customers between them.
In the United States, Comcast, DISH Network, Time Warner Cable, Charter, Cablevision and Mediacom lost a total of 885,000 television customers between them over the year, while AT&T and Verizon added 865,000.
“The index of 100 services worldwide provides an industry barometer of the pressure on pay-TV services,” says William Cooper, the editor of the informitv Multiscreen Index. “In saturated markets there is intense pressure on incumbents from new entrants, while in developing markets there is room for growth.”
The Multiscreen Index tracks trends in television services and provides an accessible compilation of top 10 tables and charts showing annual and quarterly changes in subscriber numbers.
Worldwide Subscribers
| Service | Country | Platform | Multi-screen | Change | Change | Subscribers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| year | quarter | m | |||||
| 1 | Comcast | United States | Cable | Y | -194000 | 7000 | 22.38 |
| 2 | DIRECTV | United States | Satellite | Y | 99000 | 149000 | 20.35 |
| 3 | DISH Network | United States | Satellite | Y | -79000 | -63000 | 13.98 |
| 4 | Dish TV | India | Satellite | Y | 1300000 | 400000 | 12.5 |
| 5 | Sky (UK and Ireland) | United Kingdom | Satellite | Y | 398000 | 202000 | 10.93 |
| 6 | Tricolor | Russia | Satellite | N | 819000 | 259000 | 10.92 |
| 7 | Time Warner Cable | United States | Cable | Y | -408000 | -38000 | 10.79 |
| 8 | Videocon d2h | India | Satellite | N | 1790000 | 360000 | 9.82 |
| 9 | Airtel Digital TV | India | Satellite | Y | 1003000 | 270000 | 9.81 |
| 10 | Hathway | India | Cable | N | 800200 | 100000 | 8.5 |
| 5528200 | 1646000 | 129.98 |
Residential digital television subscriber numbers at the end of December 2015 for the 10 leading pay-television services worldwide in the Multiscreen Index.
Source: informitv Multiscreen Index
