MIDDLESEX, U.K.—The pay-TV heights of 2015 for North America are gone, and according to a new report from Digital TV Research, the $112 billion garnered in 2015 could drop to $62 billion by 2025.
These projections by Digital TV Research include pay-TV revenues from the U.S. and Canada for satellite TV, IPTV, digital cable TV and analog cable TV. None of these areas are immune from this forecasted $50 billion decline. Cable revenues are estimated to see a $22 billion drop—$3 billion from analog cable and 19 billion for digital; satellite will fall by $21 billion; IPTV by $7 billion.
“The loss of 42 million pay TV subscribers between 2010 and 2025 is mostly responsible for this decline,” said Simon Murray, principal analyst at Digital TV Research. “Operators now put more emphasis on broadband connections than on traditional pay TV channels.”
Murray also alludes to consumers growing use of OTT platforms as an alternative to pay-TV, like Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime and others, which are often cheaper and allow for more control on how and when they can watch programs.
“The value of linear schedule for recorded programming is rapidly diminishing,” Murray said.
A separate report from Piplsay showed that 66% of Americans have access to OTT services.
Digital TV Research’s “North America Pay TV Forecasts” report can be acquired online.
