SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ.: Pay TV subscriber numbers fell over the last few years. Analysts attribute the decrease to the imploded global economy, but In-Stat says things are picking up for subscription video services. The market research firm said that by the end of 2010, there were 6 percent more pay TV subscribers worldwide then at the close of 2009.
“Nearly every region showed gains or held their own in 2010. However, cable providers were impacted, to at least some degree, by a migration to satellite and/or IPTV in virtually every region,” said In-Stat’s Stephanie Pickering. “Only Western Europe showed any gains in the total number of cable TV subscribers.”
Recent research data indicated that China has the largest number of pay TV subscribers with over 160 million. Shanghai Media SiTV is the largest operator; however, no other pay TV operator has more than 5 million subscribers.
AT&T went from the sixth largest IPTV operator in the world at the end of 2009 to the fourth largest in 2010. (In-Stat did not provide total subscriber numbers.)
The largest regional market of IPTV subscribers is Western Europe with nearly 17.5 million, of which France has nearly 11 million, led by CanalSat-TPS (Vivendi) and Free (iliad).
-- Television Broadcast
