The decline comes despite the number of global pay-TV subscribers rising by 35m between 2019 and 2025.
Global pay-TV revenue for 138 countries is set to decline in the coming five years by more than $50bn, according to the Global Pay TV Revenue Forecasts report by Digital TV Research.
The revenues will total to $150bn in 2025, a fall from $202bn since peaking in 2016. This was despite the number of global pay-TV subscribers rising by 35m between 2019 and 2025. The top five countries will account for 56% of global pay-TV revenues by 2025.
Revenues are predicted to decline in 61 countries between 2019 and 2025. The US will provide the most dramatic fall – by $31bn. Brazil and Canada will each lose more than $1bn.
Meanwhile, India is set to gain $812m in pay-TV revenues between 2019 and 2025 to take its total to $6bn – up by 16%. The second biggest winner will be Indonesia, with a $719m gain.
The top five countries will account for 56% of global pay-TV revenues by 2025. The next 15 countries will bring in a further 25%. Therefore, the top 20 countries will contribute 81% of pay-TV revenues by 2025.
Satellite TV revenues will fall by $18bn between 2019 and 2025. The US alone will decline by $14bn. IPTV revenues will be flat between 2019 and 2025 at $27bn. Global cable TV revenues, which peaked at $97bn in 2012, will fall to $63bn in 2025.
Commenting on the report, Simon Murray, principal analyst at Digital TV Research, said: “Much of the losses are down to subscribers converting from standalone TV to a bundle where they pay more overall to the operator but less on TV services. Cord-cutting is also a major problem, especially in the US”.
