Digital TV Research: Pay TV revenues to drop by USD 30 billion

Global pay TV revenues for 138 countries peaked in 2016 at USD 201 billion. Revenues will fall to USD 143 billion in 2026 from USD 173 billion in 2020 – despite the number of pay TV subscribers rising by 15 million.

US pay TV revenues peaked at $104 billion in 2015. Its total will drop from USD 80 billion in 2020 to USD 57 billion in 2026. The US will account for 40% of global revenues by 2026, down from 52% in 2015.

Simon Murray, Principal Analyst at Digital TV Research, said: ‘Revenues will decline in 77 of the 138 countries covered between 2020 and 2026. The US will provide the most dramatic fall – by $23 billion’.

Global satellite TV revenues will drop by USD 16 billion, with digital cable down by $12 billion. Analog cable will lose a further USD 2 billion. IPTV won’t lose too much.