Global pay-TV subs surpassed 900 million in 2013

Global pay-TV subscribers increased over 5% in 2013 to surpass 901 million, according to ABI Research. However, the average revenue per user (ARPU) dropped slightly to $23.8 billion in 2013 from $24.1 billion in 2012.

Pay-TV APRU in North America increased around 4% to $76 in 2013, which, according to major pay-TV operators in the continent, was due to a growth in the proportion of customers with advanced pay-TV set-top boxes and upgraded HD packages.

Subscriptions of HD-TV services continued to grow, accounting for 41% of the total pay-TV subscriber base last year.

ABI Research forecasts that the subscriber base of HD-TV services will continue to increase to 57% of total pay-TV subs in 2019, while the worldwide pay-TV subscriber base is expected to surpass 1 billion subs in the same period.

“In general, the pay-TV market grew both in terms of subscribers and service revenue across all pay-TV platforms,” said Jake Saunders, VP and practice director of core forecasting, ABI Research. “Overall pay-TV service revenue reached almost $250 billion in 2013.”