OTT pay TV revenue to hit $10 billion in 2018

Over-the-top (OTT) pay TV expected to soar to $10B by 2018; Netflix, Hulu just the beginning

CAMPBELL, California — Market research firm Infonetics Research released excerpts from its latest Pay TV Services and Subscribers report, which forecasts and analyzes the cable TV, satellite TV, and telco internet protocol television (IPTV), and over-the-top (OTT) services markets.

PAY-TV ANALYST NOTE

“Subscription-based over-the-top (OTT) providers like Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Amazon have seen phenomenal growth over the last couple of years. With a combination of wide availability across end devices, user-friendly interfaces, and access to vast content libraries, these providers continue to challenge traditional pay-TV providers and are in the early stages of siphoning off revenue,” notes Jeff Heynen, principal analyst for broadband access and pay TV at Infonetics Research.

“But beyond this approach,” continues Heynen, “OTT providers are now expanding their relationships with traditional pay-TV providers to get their apps and services integrated directly onto consumer set-top boxes (STBs), gaining access to a much larger pool of current pay-TV subscribers.”

PAY-TV MARKET HIGHLIGHTS

• Over-the-top (OTT) pay-TV revenue is forecast by Infonetics to grow from $5.8 billion in 2014 to just over $10 billion in 2018
• The global pay-TV market totaled $117 billion in the first half of 2014 (1H14), an increase of 3.9% from the first half of 2013 (1H13)
• Satellite and telco pay-TV service revenue continues to grow, driven by new subscribers and increased average revenue per user (ARPU) in North America and Western Europe
• However, much of the increased revenue per user is being offset by ever-increasing content costs
• Pay-TV subscribers reached 837 million in 1H14, growing 10% over 2013, with the strongest growth again coming from the telco pay-TV segment

PAY-TV SUBSCRIBER DATABASE

See Infonetics’ companion Pay TV Subscriber Database and Video Equipment Tracker, published November 4, 2014, for additional data and demographics on the digital and analog cable pay-TV, satellite pay-TV, and telco IPTV subscribers of more than 140 providers around the world. Combined with the included Video Equipment Tracker by Provider Tracker, this service helps pay-TV equipment vendors focus sales efforts by keeping track of which operators are adding pay-TV subscribers and where, and allows pay-TV operators to keep an eye on the activities of peers.