Pay TV revenues to fall to 2010 levels

Pay TV revenues for 138 countries are to fall to reach the levels of 2010, despite increasing numbers of subscribers.

According to Digital TV Research, revenues for Pay TV – which encompasses subscription fees and PPV orders – peaked at US$205 billion (€183 billion) in 2016, but will fall by 14% to US$177 billion (€158 billion) in 2024. Subscriber numbers are expected to have climbed by 380 million between 2010 and 2024.

Eight of the top 10 countries will lose revenues between 2018 and 2024. The US will fall by US$21 billion (€19 billion) – or down by 22%. US pay TV revenues peaked in 2015, at US$106 billion (€95 billion), but its total will drop to $76 billion (€68 billion) in 2024.

The UK will follow suit, with revenues falling by nearly US$1 billion (€890 million) between 2018 and 2024. This represents a decrease of 14%.

The top five countries will account for 59% of global pay TV revenues by 2024. The next 15 countries will bring in a further 23%. This means that the top 20 countries will contribute 82% of pay TV revenues by 2024.

Simon Murray, principal analyst at Digital TV Research, said: “Subscriber growth is mainly in developing countries where ARPU is lower than the developed countries. In addition, subs are moving away from standalone packages to double-play and triple-play bundles. Standalone packages are more lucrative to TV.

“On a positive note, India will gain US$1 billion in pay TV revenues between 2018 and 2024 to take its total to US$6.32 billion – up by nearly 20%. India will move up from sixth to third place over this period. The second biggest winner will be Indonesia, with a US$786 million gain.”

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