Pay TV revenues in eastern Europe growing strongly

Pay TV revenues across Eastern Europe have rocketed in the past five years and will continue to grow strongly, according to new research.

Digital TV Research’s Digital TV Eastern Europe report says that cumulative pay TV revenues in the region have grown from US$4.3 billion (€3 billion) in 2006 to US$7.1 billion this year. It forecasts that total will increase, albeit at a slower rate, to US$8.9 billion by end-2016.
By platform, digital cable will continue to be the biggest earner although DTH will close the gap.

Digital TV Research says that cable will generate US$3.5 billion of the 2016 total and DTH US$3.3 billion. IPTV will generate US$1.5 billion, analogue cable US$0.7 billion.
Market conditions are spurring pay TV growth, the research group said.

“Most eastern European countries have been slow to implement analogue terrestrial switchover, with several postponing their own deadlines,” said report author Simon Murray. “This is good news for pay TV operators as it gives them more time to convert homes to their packages before FTA DTT becomes established. Only the relatively small territories of Croatia, Estonia, Latvia and Slovenia had achieved national analogue terrestrial switch-off by end-2010.”