European IPTV subscribers to overtake D

By 2018, paying IPTV subscribers will outnumber subscribers for pay satellite in Western Europe, according to a Digital TV Research report.

The report suggests that between 2013 and 2020, IPTV subscriptions will climb by 7.5 million people (38%), compared with an additional 1.2 million more satellite TV (up by 5%) and pay DTT subscribers (up 22%). The report also says that by 2013, digital cable subscription will increase by nearly 13 million.

Despite an upswing in the economy, pay TV subscriptions will only increase by 8.7 million between now and 2020 to 103.65 million, the report claims. The number of digital pay TV subscribers should increase by 28.1% to nearly 23 million, with analog cable subscription falling to zero by 2019.

The total number of digital TV households in Western Europe will be 159 million by the end of 2014, up 33 million since 2010. The total should grow to 174 million by 2020. Free-to-air DTT will remain the most popular platform, in 44 million homes by 2020.

Despite the increase in the number of pay TV homes, pay TV revenue is forecast to remain flat at around $33 billion. Satellite TV will remain the most lucrative pay TV platform, though its revenues will continue to fall each year, despite the rise in subscription numbers. Cable TV revenue peaked in 2012 and will have lost $1.3 billion between 2013 and 2020.

The UK ($7,535 million) will still be the most lucrative pay TV market by 2020, sais the report, Despite having the most pay TV subscribers by some distance, Germany's pay TV revenues will be a lot lower than the UK - at $4,741 million. In fact, Italy ($4,539 million) will not be too far behind Germany despite having fewer than half its pay TV subscribers.

The full Western Europe TV forecast can be found at Digital TV Research (www.digitaltvresearch.com) .

This story also appears on IBC's Content Everywhere.

LINK:	http://www.tvbeurope.com/european-iptv-subscribers-overtake-dth/...
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