Telcos will account for 56% of Western Europe’s Pay TV subscribers by 2024 if all currently proposed deals receive regulatory approval, according to Digital TV Research.
The new report predicts that if this is the case, telecoms companies will have 18.61 million non-IPTV subscribers plus 38.72 million IPTV subscribers by 2024, giving them more than half of the market.
“This marks a sea change for Western Europe’s pay TV sector,” said Simon Murray, Principal Analyst at Digital TV Research. “Pay TV is not the priority for telcos – broadband and mobile provision are at the forefront.”
Overall, Western Europe is expected to have 101.59 million Pay TV subscribers by 2024, marking a 1.2% decline between 2018 and 2024. Pay TV revenues are expected to fall by 13.1% over the same period to US$25.44 billion.
Digital TV Research predicts that cable TV will have 40.28 million subscribers by 2024; IPTV 38.72 million; and pay satellite TV 20.33 million subs. IPTV is the only one of these expected to make gains over the forecast period.
Half of the 18 countries covered by the report are tipped to lose pay TV subscribers between 2018 and 2024 with Italy and the UK to see the biggest declines, losing 728,000 and 621,000 subscribers respectively.
By 2024, Germany is expected to account for 25% of Western Europe’s pay TV subscribers, the UK for 15% and France for 14%.
