Forecast: E Europe to add 9m digital pay-TV subs
March 21, 2024
The number of pay-TV subscribers in Eastern Europe will decline by 8 million from 81 million in the peak year of 2018 to 74 million in 2029 according to the Eastern Europe Pay TV Forecasts report from analyst firm Digital TV Research. However, 2018 included 17 million analogue cable subscribers, which will drop to zero by 2027. The number of digital pay-TV subscribers will rise by 9 million over this period.
Pay-TV subscriber numbers will fall in 20 of the 22 countries covered between 2023 and 2029, with the total down by 2.4 million. There will be 4.6 million fewer analogue cable subs. Pay satellite TV will fall by 2.6 million. However, IPTV will gain 2.8 million and digital cable 1.9 million.
Russia will account for nearly half of the region’s pay-TV subscribers in 2029, despite losing 2.6 million pay-TV subscribers between 2023 and 2029.
“Tough times continue in Eastern Europe, with poor job prospects forcing many to seek work abroad,” advises Simon Murray, Principal Analyst at Digital TV Research. “This migration married with low birth rates mean that populations will fall or stall in 17 of the 22 countries covered in this report between 2023 and 2029.”