The worldwide Pay TV market grew steadily in 2012 to generate $238bn of revenues, up from $223bn in 2011, according to ABI Research. The firm believes that the global Pay TV market is expected to generate $304bn in 2018, with a CAGR of 4 per cent. It adds that that globally, IPTV is gaining market share year-on-year while the rest of the Pay TV platforms are slowly contracting. Jake Saunders, VP and practice director of core forecasting, says that IPTV service revenue market share increased from 10 per cent in 2011 to 11.5 per cent in 2012:

“Availability of super-fast broadband networks and bundle offers from telcos over high-speed networks are driving the growth of IPTV adoption. IPTV market share is expected to increase to 18 per cent in 2018, to generate $53bn in revenue.”

ABI Research says that service revenue contributions from cable TV are proving mixed. The Asia-Pacific region saw service revenue growth due to underlying increase in subscriptions. However, cable TV operators in North America are experiencing a decline in service revenue as result of a contracting subscriber base, despite the introduction of DVR and HDTV. Cable TV’s share of the Pay TV market dropped to 47 per cent in 2012 from 48.5 per cent in 2011, while satellite TV market share dropped around 1 per cent.

Khin Sandi Lynn, research analyst, added that:

“Based on our market share analysis, satellite giant DirecTV ranks top in terms of Pay-TV service revenue across all platforms. In the global IPTV sector, Verizon is the top ranked IPTV operator with the highest service revenue.”