Cable TV Losing Subscribers to Satellite and IPTV

CAMPBELL, CA – By 2016 satellite TV revenue will overtake cable TV revenue for the first time, according to Infonetics Research, whose November 2012 Pay TV Services and Subscribers report has just been released. The report forecasts and analyzes the telco Internet protocol television (IPTV), cable video, and satellite video services markets.

"Ongoing challenging economic conditions in the key revenue-generating markets of North America and Western Europe have resulted in slowing subscriber and revenue growth in the cable TV market," notes Jeff Heynen, directing analyst for broadband access and pay TV at Infonetics Research.

The research also reflects a change in subscriber behavior. "Subscribers are far less loyal than they used to be," Heynen adds. "The cable TV industry is characterized more by churn than cord cutting, as subscribers take advantage of introductory pricing on satellite and IPTV subscriptions that's 30 to 50 percent below their cable bills. DirecTV, Verizon, AT&T, and Virgin Media have all set their sights on existing cable subscribers, and they're seeing their subscriber bases increase as cable TV subscriptions shrink."

Additional Highlights from the Report
• The global pay-TV market (cable, satellite, and telco IPTV) totaled $137 billion in the first half of 2012 (1H12), a 9.4 percent increase over the same time last year.
• By 2016, Infonetics expects satellite TV revenue to overtake cable TV revenue for the first time.
• Global pay-TV service revenue is forecast by Infonetics to grow at a 7 percent CAGR from 2011 to 2016, spurred by emerging markets Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Russia, India, and China.
• Latin America, the smallest but fastest-growing pay-TV market, is on track to jump 23 percent this year to top $23 billion.
• The number of global pay-TV subscribers will reach 719 million in 2012, up 6 percent from 2011.
• While cable subscribers continue to make up the lion's share (60 percent in1H12) of pay-TV subscribers, growth is strongest in the telco IPTV segment, up 19 percent in 1H12 over 2H11.
• Verizon and AT&T are neck-and-neck for revenue share in the fast-growing telco IPTV market, followed by France Telecom and Deutsche Telekom in Europe and NTT and CTC in Asia.