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Cable Technology Feature Article

December 21, 2011

Global Pay-TV Market Set to Grow

By Anuradha Shukla, TMCnet Contributor


Global Pay-TV market is set to grow, and is forecasted to reach $236 billion at the end of 2012, according to a newly released research by ABI.

Part of ABI’s TV and Video Research Service, the new study indicates that cable TV operators are facing increasing competition from IPTV (News - Alert) and over-the-top (OTT) services.

Also, subscriber growth in IPTV and OTT services is driven by increasing broadband penetration and the growing number of people using Internet-connected devices.

Currently, Pay-TV operators are searching the market to find ways that can improve customer growth.

ABI notes that customers have the option to choose from many recent innovations such as multiscreen TV services. These services allow consumers to receive TV content on Internet-connected devices such as iPhones and iPads.

Several multiscreen services players want to tap this market. French IPTV giant Orange (News - Alert), cable operator B.net in Belgium, and UK satellite TV operator BSkyB are few of them. 

The aim of these operators, according to ABI, is to build up better customer loyalty as well as raise average revenue per user (ARPU) by offering multiscreen TV services.

“Cable TV services will still dominate the overall pay-TV market, although this segment’s market share is expected to slightly decrease from 2011. Cable TV service revenue will account for 48.6% of total pay TV revenue in 2012,” said Jason Blackwell, practice director, digital home.

“In North America, where cable TV penetration is nearly saturated, cable companies are losing TV subscribers. However, the continuous growth of the cable TV market in other regions will drive global cable TV revenue to increase in the coming years. In the emerging markets, cable TV will be a better choice for consumers due to its relatively low pricing,” said Khin Sandi Lynn, research analyst, broadband.

Read a related article at TMCnet “Report: Pace to Top in Pay-TV Set-Top Boxx (STB) Market in 2Q11, Motorola (News - Alert) Second.”


Anuradha Shukla is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Juliana Kenny