According to Paris-based researchers at Euroconsult, Japan’s SkyPerfectTV is likely to become the world’s first pay-TV platform to be all-HDTV by 2015. It is also known that SkyPerfectTV intends to debut 4K services next year in conjunction with the FIFA soccer World Cup from Brazil.

Euroconsult’s data suggests that pay-TV popularity continues to expand rapidly, with some markets (Russia and South Africa in particular) adding 12 million subscribers in five years and helped by low-cost ‘basic’ bundles.

These strategies are being widely adopted as established platforms drill down to lower-priced tiers. “While platforms in advanced markets target ARPUs of more than $40-50, subscriptions and strategies are now turned to low cost services, particularly in emerging digital markets. Entry prices of no more than a few dollars per month result for many platforms in ARPU of around $10 or less,” says Euroconsult.

“DTH subscriptions should reach close to 350 million in 2022 worldwide including around 270 million in fast growing economies. Asia, led by India and Indonesia and Latin America, led by Brazil and Mexico, are expected to be the fastest-growing markets. In these, subscriptions should continue to be supported by low-cost offerings and the roll-out of new services. The need to minimize entry fees to develop a market should put growing pressure on DTH platforms’ economic models with revenues expected to reach $130 billion by 2022,” says the study.

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