Global Pay TV subscribers Hit 800 million

Scottsdale, Ariz.,  May 24, 2013-Fueled by demand in emerging markets, worldwide pay-TV subscriber households grew by an impressive 8% in 2012. MRG research highlights that the market growth was significantly influenced by the type of pay-TV services available (cable TV, satellite TV, or IPTV) in each country or geographic region, and by the overall competitive environment for pay-TV services. Current trends that are shaping the pay-TV market include:

  • In the cable TV industry, the majority of global subscriber growth occurred in the Asia, led specifically by China, India and Vietnam. Other regions, especially North America and Western Europe, are experiencing little or no growth in cable TV households. Overall, global cable TV subscriber households grew modestly in 2012 to just over 520 million.
  • Global satellite TV service subscribers grew solidly in 2012, as demand for pay-TV satellite TV services in countries like Russia and India spiked. Total pay-TV satellite households now exceed 202 million, an annual growth rate of 12%.
  • Demand for IPTV services picked up significantly in 2012, as subscribers increased by a healthy 36%. Subscriber growth was strong in all geographic regions, and worldwide IPTV households now total more than 77 million.

On a regional basis, a number of mature pay-TV markets, such as North America and Western Europe, are seeing very low or no growth in subscriber households. Over the next few years, we expect this "low growth" trend to continue in these regions, while markets in developing regions continue to drive overall global growth in pay-TV subscriber households.

The report xamines the current state of the worldwide pay-TV subscriber market. It provides subscriber data for the top 60 cable, top 100 satellite (DTH), and top 140 IPTV pay-TV operators, and also reports pay-TV subscriber totals by country, geographic region, and by platform. Global pay-TV subscriber households are also forecasted through 2017.  For more information go to: www.mrgco.com