Number of IPTV subscribers to double by 2020

Global IPTV subscriptions to double

Covering 138 countries, the number of homes paying for IPTV will rocket to 191 million by end-2020; more than double the 90 million recorded at end-2013 and up from only 36 million at end-2010, according to a new report from Digital TV Research.

Global IPTV Forecasts

                            2010   2013   2014   2020
                           -----  -----  -----  -----
TV households (mil.)       1,456  1,527  1,553  1,719
Pay IPTV subs (mil.)        36.1   90.3  111.9  191.2
Pay IPTV subs/TV HH         2.5%   5.9%   7.2%  11.1%
IPTV revenues ($ million)  8,271 15,953 18,323 26,194

Source: Digital TV Research

The Global IPTV Forecasts report forecasts that IPTV penetration will exceed 11% of TV households by 2020; up from 5.9% in 2013 and from only 2.5% in 2010. IPTV revenues (from subscriptions and on-demand movies and TV shows) will grow to $26.2 billion by 2020, up from $16.0 billion in 2013 and $8.3 billion in 2010.

From the 101 million subscribers to be added between 2013 and 2020, 69 million will be in the Asia Pacific region – or 68% of the new subscribers. Asia Pacific will account for 61% of global pay IPTV subscribers by 2020; up from 38% in 2010. Despite subscriber numbers more than doubling, Western Europe’s share of the global total will fall from a third in 2010 to 14% by 2020.

Top five countries by paying IPTV subscribers (000)

               2013                 2020
-------------------  -------------------
China        33,363  China        77,223
USA          11,349  USA          16,141
France        7,308  France        8,740
South Korea   5,405  Japan         7,192
Japan         4,435  Russia        7,130

Source: Digital TV Research

Four of the top 10 IPTV countries by subscribers were in the Asia Pacific region by end-2013. Already the world leader, China will supply 77 million (40% of the global total) of the 2020 total, up from 33 million (37%) in 2013 and only 6.5 million (18%) at end-2010. India will contribute 7.1 million IPTV subscribers by 2020, up from only 318,000 at end-2013. Strong growth is also expected in Russia, with subs numbers doubling between 2013 and 2020 to 7.1 million. The US will add 4.8 million subs and Vietnam 4.1 million.

IPTV revenues will climb to $26.2 billion in 2020, up from $16.0 billion in 2013 and $8.3 billion in 2010. Asia Pacific’s share of the global total will increase from 17% in 2010 to 30% by 2020, but North America will remain the revenue leader.

From the $10.2 billion additional revenues to be created between 2013 and 2020, the US will provide $2.5 billion. The Asia Pacific region will contribute an extra $3.9 billion, led by China ($1.4 billion more) and Japan ($0.9 billion).

Top five countries by IPTV revenues ($ million)

               2013                 2020
-------------------  -------------------
USA           6,426  USA           8,963
France        1,501  China         2,291
Japan         1,374  Japan         2,249
South Korea   1,071  France        1,725
China           883  South Korea   1,275

Source: Digital TV Research

The US will remain the largest IPTV revenue earner by taking 34% of the 2020 total (down from a 46% share in 2010). France will drop from second place in 2013 to fourth by 2020. China will take second place in 2020; up from ninth in 2010.