Pay-TV subs continue to climb

Pay TV subscribers are continuing to grow as providers embrace multi-screen services to offer subscribers more viewing options, according to informitv.

The latest Multiscreen Index reveals a 1.4% increase in digital television subscriber numbers across 100 leading pay-TV services around the world in the first quarter of 2014, collectively gaining almost 4.2 million video customers over three months and just over 17.4 million year on year, up 5.2%.

The report covers over 30 countries representing approximately 330 million subscribing homes across the globe.

Two thirds of services in the Index reported net subscriber gains, with the ten services with the largest gains adding 2.45 million video customers over the quarter.

The ten reporting the largest losses collectively lost 280,000 video customers in the same period.

Services in Europe, the Middle East and Africa gained the most subscribers, led by Tricolor in Russia, adding 340,000 in three months.

The top ten services in the US that report subscriber numbers added just over 314,000 digital video customers in Q1, with the planned mergers of Comcast with Time Warner Cable and AT&T with DirecTV expected to lead to a greater disparity between the major providers and small operators.

Satellite services made the greatest gains over the quarter, just ahead of telco networks, while operators in India accounted for most of the gains for cable.

65% of pay-TV services in the Index now deliver to multiple screens in addition to the traditional television, including phones, tablets and other network connected devices.

The reported gains do not include substantial growth for services in China where reliable figures are unavailable.