Global pay TV subscriber numbers to remain steady

The number of global pay TV subscribers across 138 countries will remain at just under 1 billion until 2025, predicted a media research firm.

Digital TV Research forecasts that the market will then experience a slender decline of global pay TV subscribers until 2025, with a small recovery thereafter.

The company’s latest report revealed global pay TV penetration reached 56% of TV households by the end of 2023, that will see a slight fall to 54% by the end of 2029.

Between 2023 and 2029, 82 countries will add pay TV subscribers and 56 countries will lose subscribers, according to Digital TV Research’s findings. The US will suffer the most lost, with the region down by 10 million subscribers in the next six years.

Simon Murray, principal analyst at Digital TV Research, said: “IPTV is the pay TV winner. IPTV will add 36 million subscribers between 2023 and 2029 to take its total to 412 million. IPTV overtook pay satellite TV subscribers in 2018 and will overtake digital cable in 2024.”