The world’s top 50 pay-TV operators will account for 853 million of the 1.02 billion global subscriber total by 2026.
According to the latest report by Digital TV Research, they claimed 64% of the world’s pay-TV subscribers at the end of last year, with the proportion set to drop to 62% by 2026. Although the top 50 will lose 20 million subscribers over the next five years, operators beyond the top 100 will gain subscribers over the same period.
Commenting on the findings of the report, Simon Murray, principal analyst at Digital TV Research, said: “Most industries consolidate as they mature. The pay-TV sector is doing the opposite – fragmenting. Most of the subscriber growth will take place in developing countries where operators are not controlled by larger corporations”.
As of the end of last year, 13 operators had more than 10 million pay-TV subscribers. China and India will continue to dominate the top pay-TV operator rankings, partly as their subscriber bases climb but also due to the US operators losing subscribers.
Between 2020 and 2026, 307 of the 503 operators (61%) will gain subscribers, with 13 showing no change and 183 losing subscribers (36%).
In 2020, 28 pay-TV operators earned more than $1 billion in revenues, but this will drop to 24 operators by 2026.
The Global Pay TV Operator Forecasts report covers 503 operators with 726 platforms [132 digital cable, 116 analogue cable, 279 satellite, 142 IPTV and 57 DTT] across 135 countries.
For more information, please contact: Simon Murray, simon@digitaltvresearch.com, Tel: +44 20 8248 5051
