Study: pay TV subs hit 969m in 2016

The global number of pay TV subscribers climbed by 35%between 2010 and 2016, taking the figure to 969 million at the end of last year, according to Digital TV Research.

The new report estimates that operators added 254 million pay TV subscribers across 138 countries between 2010-2016, with customer growth in digital cable TV offsetting declines in analogue cable TV.

Over the research period digital cable TV added 256 million subscribers; satellite added 77 million extra subscribers; IPTV added 76 million to nearly quintuple its total; and pay DTT added 5 million. At the same time, analogue cable TV lost 218 million subscribers.

Excluding analogue cable TV, digital pay TV jumped from 380 million subscribers in 2010 onto 852 million at end-2016, according to the report.

Overall, pay TV subscriber numbers doubled in 53 countries between 2010 and 2016, but fell in nine countries – including the US, which was down by 4.4 million.

“Asia Pacific is the world’s largest pay TV subscriber region, contributing 60% to the global total,” according to Digital TV Research. “China supplies about a third of the world’s pay TV subscribers, with 313 million by end-2016.”