East Europe pay-TV market faces 8m subscriber decline

The number of pay-TV subscribers is expected to decline by 8 million by 2029, according to Digital TV Research.

Subscriber numbers are set to fall from 81 million in the peak year of 2018 to 74 million in 2029. However, 2018 included 17 million analogue cable subscribers, which will drop to zero by 2027.

The number of digital pay-TV subscribers will rise by 9 million over this period.

Simon Murray, Principal Analyst at Digital TV Research, said: “Tough times continue in Eastern Europe, with poor job prospects forcing many to seek work abroad. This migration married with low birth rates mean that populations will fall or stall in 17 of the 22 countries covered in this report between 2023 and 2029.”

Pay-TV subscriber numbers will fall in 20 of the 22 countries covered between 2023 and 2029, with the total down by 2.4 million. There will be 4.6 million fewer analogue cable subs. Pay satellite TV will fall by 2.6 million. However, IPTV will gain 2.8 million and digital cable 1.9 million.

Russia will account for nearly half of the region’s pay-TV subscribers in 2029, despite losing 2.6 million pay TV subscribers between 2023 and 2029.

Source: Digital TV Research

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