Western Europe to lose 9m pay TV subs by 2029

Pay TV subscribers in Western Europe will sink to 93 million by 2029, forecasts market research firm Digital TV Research.

Source: Digital TV Research

In its latest report Digital TV Research revealed Western Europe’s pay TV subscriber base will be down by 8%, losing nearly 9 million subs between 2023 and 2029.

However pay TV will decline at a slower rate compared to the US, as pay TV penetration will still be 53% by 2029 – down from 58% in 2023.

Pay TV subscriber counts will fall for 14 of the 18 countries between 2023 and 2029. Germany will lose 2.7 million subs, with the UK down by 2.0 million, Italy 1.5 million and France by 1.1 million.

IPTV will gain 1 million subscribers between 2023 and 2029, with pay satellite TV down by 6.4 million, pay DTT down by 0.8 million and cable down by 2.4 million.

Simon Murray, Principal Analyst at Digital TV Research, said: “Pay satellite TV will be the biggest loser because most DTH platforms do not offer broadband access. This is not true of Sky, which wants to convert its satellite TV subscribers to its streaming platforms. Sky will lose 1.8 million satellite TV subs in both Germany and the UK as well as a further 1.3 million in Italy – or nearly 5 million in its five territories between 2023 and 2029.”