IPTV subscriber numbers grow 21% in 2013

Global IPTV subscriber numbers grew by 21% last year, reaching 96 million at the end of 2013, according to figures released by the Broadband Forum. 

The international non-profit organisation said that the figures, compiled by Point Topic, showed that 17 million new subscribers signed up for IPTV in the year.

It also said that at the end of 2013, 14.1% of fixed broadband subscribers also subscribed to an IPTV service, “making this an important driver of continuing growth in the demand for high speed broadband.”

“Regionally the best performance towards the end of the year was seen in Asian markets and Eastern Europe, driven by a significant surge in demand in Russia,” said the Broadband Forum.

At the end of the fourth quarter, East Asia was the region with most IPTV subscribers at 44.9 million – an annual increase of 24%. Following in second place was Europe – Other (which covers Western Europe) with 28.9 million subscribers – up 12% year-on-year.

The biggest regional increase in subscriber numbers was in Europe – East, where the 5.18 million subscribers counted at the end of the year marked a 31% rise. Africa accounted for the least number of IPTV subscribers at 128,500, though even this was, in itself, a 22% annual increase.

Overall, the Broadband Forum said that there were 678.5 million global subscribers to broadband in 2013, an increase of 40 million, or 6.15% annually – “a slowing but steady growth in broadband subscribers.”