Telcos near 100 million pay TV subscriber mark

Globally, telco operators had 94 million pay TV customers at the end of September 2011, according to new data from analyst group TeleGeography, giving them a 12% share of the global pay TV market.

IPTV customers accounted for just 60% of telco pay TV subscribers at the end of September, according to the report, with many telcos also operating DTH, cable or DTT networks. The leading telco pay TV operator during the third quarter of 2011 was America Movil, which operates in several Latin American markets and has around 10 million pay TV subs. In second place was China Telecom, followed by Russia’s Rostelecom, which operates a cable network that accounts for 85% of its pay TV customers. France Telecom was in fourth place, according to TeleGeography.