Cord Cutting to Cost Pay TV Operators $33.6B in Revenue by 2025
A new S&P Kagan report puts a hefty price tag on the cost of cord cutting with new forecasts for cable, satellite and telco multichannel revenue showing a 45% drop from the 2016 peak
NEW YORK—Video cord cutting and the migration of consumers to streaming video services will significantly reduce revenue for pay TV operators over the next few years, according to Kagan, the TMT research unit of S&P Global Market Intelligence.
It’s latest forecast for cable, direct broadcast satellite and telco multichannel revenue predicts that their sales will dip from $91.1 billion in 2021 to $64.7 billion by 2025, producing nearly $33.6 billion in lost annual revenue that operators will have to recover from other sources.
In a longer term perspective, Kagan’s data shows that multichannel video revenues hit a peak of $116.9 billion in 2016, which would mean the industry will have lost nearly half (45%) of its annual revenue by 2025.
While all three major platforms are feeling the impact from the shift, “the magnitude of the losses are expected to hit more acutely for DBS and telco revenue subtotals amid waning commitments by major players and relative stability from the large cable providers,” the report said.
More information on the report is available here.
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George Winslow is the senior content producer for TV Tech. He has written about the television, media and technology industries for nearly 30 years for such publications as Broadcasting & Cable, Multichannel News and TV Tech. Over the years, he has edited a number of magazines, including Multichannel News International and World Screen, and moderated panels at such major industry events as NAB and MIP TV. He has published two books and dozens of encyclopedia articles on such subjects as the media, New York City history and economics.