Hot on the heels of publishing a report predicting that the region’s OTT TV market will grow strongly over the next six years, Digital TV Research has released a study showing very different fortunes for the Eastern European pay-TV market in the same time.
The Eastern Europe Pay TV Forecasts report warned that even without the crisis in Ukraine, tough times continue in Eastern Europe, with poor job prospects forcing many to seek work abroad. This migration married with low birth rates mean that the number of pay-TV subscribers will fall in 18 of the 22 countries covered between 2022 and 2028.
The study calculated that the number of pay-TV subscribers in Eastern Europe will decline by 8 million from 81 million in the peak year of 2018 to 73 million in 2028. However, the analyst added that the 2018 figure included 17 million analogue cable subscribers, which are set to drop to zero by 2027. This will see the number of digital pay-TV subscribers will climb by 8 million between 2018 and 2028.
In terms of platforms, free-to-air DTT will be the dominant platform with 37.168 million viewers, followed by pay satellite TV with 25.323 million; pay IPTV, 23.84 million; digital cable TV, 23.467 million; and free-to-air satellite, 12.771 million.
Russia is set to lose 4 million pay TV subscribers between 2022 and 2028 partly as sanctions worsen the economic situation and also due to some analogue cable homes converting to free-to-air DTT.
The study calculated that the number of pay-TV subscribers in Eastern Europe will decline by 8 million from 81 million in the peak year of 2018 to 73 million in 2028. However, the analyst added that the 2018 figure included 17 million analogue cable subscribers, which are set to drop to zero by 2027. This will see the number of digital pay-TV subscribers will climb by 8 million between 2018 and 2028.
In terms of platforms, free-to-air DTT will be the dominant platform with 37.168 million viewers, followed by pay satellite TV with 25.323 million; pay IPTV, 23.84 million; digital cable TV, 23.467 million; and free-to-air satellite, 12.771 million.
Russia is set to lose 4 million pay TV subscribers between 2022 and 2028 partly as sanctions worsen the economic situation and also due to some analogue cable homes converting to free-to-air DTT.
