Minority status for US pay-TV by 2026

The extent of the fall is shown clearly in the North America Pay TV Forecasts report which revealed that this figure was 91% in 2010 and 60% in 2021. Digital TV Research calculates that the US lost 6 million pay-TV subscribers each year from 2019 to 2021 and that while losses will decrease from now on, the 2027 total will be 12 million lower than 2021. In total, the study forecasts 60 million pay-TV subscribers by 2027, declining from 105 million in the peak year of 2010.

Looking at pay-TV platforms, Digital TV Research calculated that the satellite pay-TV subscribers will have more than halved from 2010 by 2027 to total 14.627 million by 2027, with 2021’s total amounting to 19.775 million. The IPTV sector is due for gradual decline from a peak of 6.985 million in 2021 to 4.388 million in 20212. Digital cable is set to tumble from 45.767 million in 2021 to 41.199 million in six years’ time.

By contrast, the number of households without a pay-TV subscription is set to rocket from 11.34 million in 2010 to 72.86 million in 2027 due mainly to cord-cutting. As a consequence, showed the North America Pay TV Forecasts report, pay-TV revenues peaked in 2014, at $101 billion. A $48 billion decline is forecast between 2014 and 2027, halving the total to $53 billion. Rapid TV News