Pay TV revenues hit $184bn, but cable flattens

Worldwide pay TV revenues rocketed to $184 billion in 2012, according to new research.

Revenues increased sharply – 25.8% globally – in the four-year period to 2012 with cable taking the lion’s share by platform, generating US$87 billion.

However, the report from Digital TV Research says that cable revenues are leveling and satellite pay TV platforms will soon take a larger share.

North America generates about half of all pay TV revenues.

The number of digital pay TV households hit 772 million in 2012, up from 585 million in 2008. Asia Pacific increased by 126 million – or two-thirds of the global additions – during this period to bring its total to 433 million.

North America with 112 million and was the second largest region, although it only added four million.

Digital TV penetration of TV households climbed from 28.6% to 54.7% in the 2008-2012 period.

China and India were the single territories with the most pay homes with 232.8 million and 116.7 million respectively. They were ahead of the US (100.2million), Japan (25.1 million) and Russia (23.6 million).