Global pay-TV revenue approaching $58 billion
Global pay-TV service revenue approached $58 billion (€45.1 billion) at the end of 2Q 2010.
This was approximately a 9% increase over the same period in 2009, according to New York based ABI Research. Worldwide pay-TV subscribers totaled 688 million at the end of the quarter of 2010. Overall pay-TV subscriptions are expected to reach 854.5 million in 2015.
The majority of pay-TV service revenue comes from cable TV. It represents approximately 52% of the overall pay TV market, followed by satellite TV and IPTV. In terms of revenue, cable platforms represent approximately 70% of the overall pay-TV market.
The number of IPTV subscribers worldwide continued to grow in 2Q 2010. Western Europe and Asia-Pacific are home to the majority of IPTV subscribers, but the IPTV growth rate in some European countries is expected to slow as the market starts to mature. However, countries in Asia-Pacific, such as China, are expected to grow their IPTV subscriber bases. ABI Research forecasts that IPTV’s share of the overall pay-TV market will increase from 6% in 2010 to 11% in 2015. ABI Research estimates that global IPTV service revenue will generate more than $40 billion at the end of 2015.
At the end of 2Q 2010, satellite TV service revenue increased to $24 billion. This is about a 12% increase from the second quarter of 2009. Many of the satellite TV operators saw rises in ARPU due to their offers of HD programming packages.
Pay-DTT is starting to make its presence felt, especially in a number of European countries. For example, in Spain, Gol TV achieved one million subscribers within nine months of being launched. The low cost of deploying a pay-DTT service is the main attraction for pay-TV operators. Western European pay-DTT subscriptions are expected to reach 14.4 million by the end of 2015.
By Robert Briel
