Pay TV revenues in Korea expected to continue to grow

South Korea’s pay-TV services market to reach US$7.2bn in 2025, forecasts GlobalData

Pay-TV services market in South Korea is expected to reach US$7.2bn in 2025, mainly driven by the subscription growth in Internet Protocol television (IPTV) service and growth in overall pay-TV average revenue per user (ARPU). The market is forecast to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.5% between 2020 and 2025, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

GlobalData’s South Korea Telecom Operators Country Intelligence Report reveals that IPTV subscriber base will grow at the fastest CAGR of 2.6% to reach an estimated 19.8 million subscriptions by 2025-end. Cable TV and DTH services subscriptions, on the other hand, are expected to decline over the forecast period.

Aasif Iqbal, Telecom Analyst at GlobalData, says: “IPTV services will see a steady growth in subscriptions over the forecast period, primarily supported by the improving fixed broadband infrastructure in the country and growing adoption of multi-play packages with integrated IPTV services.

“KT will lead the pay-TV market and will account for an estimated 31.7% share of the total pay-TV subscriptions in 2020. The operator will maintain its leadership in pay-TV segment given its monopoly in DTH segment and strong foothold in the IPTV segment, where it will hold 41% share of the total IPTV subscriptions by the end of 2020.”