Advanced Television

HDTV is booming in Latin America

May 14, 2012

By Chris Forrester

Viewers are increasingly enjoying high-definition TV in South America. In just 7 months the number of pay-TV operators offering DTV channels has grown from 36 to 45 operators in the seven main markets alone. Typically viewers are seeing around 21 HD channels in each country, and this represents a 20 per cent growth since September last year.

According to  a Dataxis study, the seven largest markets (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela) are today carrying a total of 119 HD channels, 86 of which were Pay-TV channels and the remaining 33 were terrestrial services transmitting digitally.  In six months, for example, Brazil recorded a “particularly significant growth”, as it grew from five to eleven HD-service-relying operators. The largest number of HD channels are in Mexico, with around 27 HD channels per operator.

Brazil’s TV Globo Group is enjoying market leadership as the main HD content provider in Latin America, with a total of 12 channels, followed Time Warner and News Corp second and third respectively. The channels with the greatest distribution are Fox HD, Nat Geo HD, ESPN HD, Discovery HD and Nat Geo Wild HD.

Categories: Articles, Markets, Research, UHD