Global pay TV market passes 900 million subscribers

The number of global pay TV subscribers increased by more than 5% in 2013, reaching a total of 901.1 million, according to new stats from ABI Research. 

The research firm said that in general the international pay TV market grew both in terms of service revenue and subscribers, with overall revenues reaching almost US$250 billion last year.

However, average revenue per user dropped slightly to US$23.80 in 2013 from US$24.10 in 2012. This was despite a 4% increase in North American pay TV ARPU to US$76.00, with Latin American ARPU falling at the same time by 5% to US$34.6.

ABI said that subscriptions to HD TV services continued to grow in 2013, accounting for 41% of the total pay-TV subscriber base. By 2019, it tipped this to increase to 57%.

Overall, the research predicted that the worldwide pay TV subscriber base will reach 1.1 billion subscribers in 2019, with IPTV helping to spur this growth thanks to increasing broadband connectivity.

“The IPTV market is likely to grow at a faster pace than other platforms, with a CAGR of 9% over the next five years to reach 160 million subscribers in 2019. The global pay TV market is expected to generate US$317.5 billion in 2019,” said ABI Research industry analyst Khin Sandi Lynn.