A new report says subscriber growth in the cable and satellite industries is expected to be steady through 2015, but IPTV is expected to see the fastest growth worldwide, increasing from its current pay-TV market share of some 6 percent to more than 11 percent. ABI Research, in its Pay-TV Subscriptions: Cable, IPTV, Satellite, Digital Terrestrial report, says there were 688 million worldwide pay-TV subscribers at the end of 2Q2010, and forecasts that number will grow to 854.5 million in 2015, with a 5.7 percent CAGR from 2010 to 2015.
Cable platforms claim approximately 70 percent of the overall pay-TV market share, but are seeing its dominance eroded in some countries, especially in Western Europe and North America because of both market saturation and competition from IPTV operators.
"Cable operators are coming under pressure to maintain subscriber and ARPU growth," said research associate Khin Sandi Lynn. "Some operators have cut subscription prices in order to compete with IPTV operators."
While IPTV growth in Western Europe also is expected to grow, it and Asia-Pacific continue to be IPTV strongholds. China is expected to help the Asia Pacific region maintain strong IPTV growth through 2015.
Pay-DTT (Digital Terrestrial Television) is starting to reach end users as well, especially in European countries, because of its low cost to deploy.
In Spain, for example, Gol TV achieved one million subscribers within nine months of being launched. Western European pay-DTT subscriptions are expected to reach 14.4 million by the end of 2015.
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