Global IPTV subscriber numbers to overtake cable in 2026

IPTV to overtake cable TV subscribers

IPTV subscriber numbers will exceed cable TV in 2026. IPTV will add 63 million subscribers between 2021 and 2026 to total 398 million.

Simon Murray, Principal Analyst at Digital TV Research, explained: “The main reason for this is China where the huge shift from cable TV to IPTV will continue.”

China will have 226 million IPTV subscribers by 2026, leaving only 172 million for the rest of the world. China will add 19 million IPTV subscribers between 2021 and 2026. However, China will lose 39 million cable TV subscribers during the same period to end 2026 with 89 million subscribers.

Digital TV Research forecasts 13 million more pay TV subscribers between 2021 and 2026 to take the global total to 1.01 billion. China will continue to supply nearly a third of the world’s pay TV subscribers, with 315 million expected by end-2026. India will bring in another 178 million. China and India will together provide half the world’s pay TV subscribers by 2026.