Global pay TV subscriber numbers hold steady

The number of pay TV subscribers across 138 countries will remain at just under 1 billion, according to the latest report from Digital TV Research, which forecasts a slender decline until 2025, with a small recovery thereafter.

The “Global Pay TV Forecasts” report also reveals that international pay TV penetration will reach 56% of TV households by the end of this year, falling slightly to 54% by end-2029. Between 2023 and 2029, 82 countries will add pay TV subscribers and 56 countries will lose subscribers. The United States will be the biggest loser – down by 10 million subscribers.

“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,”  commented Simon Murray, Principal Analyst at Digital TV Research.