In Mexico, the largest Spanish-speaking pay-TV market, viewers seem to be emulating habits from the neighbouring US, slowly cutting the cord or directly subscribing to over-the-top (OTT) platforms, as video streaming services rocket across the country.
While traditional pay-TV through cable, satellite or IP is still gaining subs and grew an average of 15% last year, the adoption of OTT platforms has grown by over 50%, according to the latest report by Mexican consultancy firm, The Competitive Intelligence Unit.
Despite being relatively new in the country, OTT platforms currently gather over one in ten subscription video consumers, although they only represent 6% of the whole audiovisual industry's income. In addition, out of those owning an OTT subscription, 35% pay only for that and have stopped paying for a traditional pay-TV service.
The report also delivers a more complete picture, which includes the pirate online video services. Taking these into account, over 30% of Mexicans consume online content.
"For a large segment of Mexico's population, OTT services can absolutely replace subscription TV platforms, while for many others, the possibility of replacing one for another is close, as both services offer similar content and share many features," says the report.
But there are other signs pointing to a changing market. According to an earlier report in June, there are already more users consuming online content for free than are paying for TV, and OTT subs represent half of cable TV subs.
