Ampere Analysis latest pay-TV barometer reports that pay-TV subscriber totals were 0.5% higher than in Q1 2020.
The London-based consultancy said that despite increased economic pressures and the cancellation of live sport as a result of the pandemic there was still room for growth, particularly in emerging markets.
However, numbers remained highly regional with the world’s three most populous nations , China, India and the United States growing by 0.1% in the second quarter, after a 0.2% loss in Q1 2020.
Toby Holleran, Senior Analyst, commented: “While some countries are seeing pay-TV subscriptions suffer due to the COVID pandemic, particularly caused by the transient loss of sport, there is still growth in the market, driven partly by bundling of services and by emerging markets. But there is a little growth left even in some developed nations such as France and Spain which are bucking the trend of stagnation in Western territories.”
The United States is once again the loss leader, seeing losses of 1.4 million subscribers in the quarter across bellwether companies, although saw slight growth from Charter and very slight recovery from Dish, which had both suffered last quarter.
