Economic downturn fails to dent digital TV uptake

The number of digital TV homes will increase by 1.08 billion between 2010 and 2021 to 1.67 billion – or up by 185%, according to the new edition of the Digital TV World Household Forecasts report. Covering 138 countries, the digital TV total will climb by 120 million in 2016 alone – and by half a billion between 2015 and 2021.

Source: Digital TV Research Ltd

Global digital TV penetration will reach 98.3% of television households by 2021, up from 40.4% at end-2010 and 74.6% at end-2015. By 2021, 98 countries will be completely digital compared with only 24 at end-2015 and two at end-2010.

The number of digital TV households in the Asia Pacific region will increase by 314 million between 2015 and 2021, with 84 million to be added in 2016 alone. The region will supply nearly two-thirds of the 497 million global digital TV household additions between 2015 and 2021.

Sub-Saharan Africa will more than double its base over the same period, with Latin America nearly doubling its total. The number of digital TV homes in Eastern Europe will triple between 2010 and 2021.

China will boast 453 million digital homes by end-2021 – up by 114 million on 2015. India will add 80 million digital TV homes between 2015 and 2021. India overtook the US to take second place in 2015. These three countries will account for 46.2% the global total by 2021, with the top 10 countries representing almost two-thirds.

Indonesia will leap to seventh place in 2021 (from 22nd in 2015), by adding 36 million digital TV households.

Global pay TV subscribers will reach 1,074 million by 2021, up from 716 million in 2010 and 907 million in 2015. The Asia Pacific region will contribute 60% (647 million) of the global total by 2021. China will have the most pay TV subs, at 329 million by end-2021, followed by 178 million in India and 95 million in the US.

Pay TV penetration (analog and digital combined) reached 57.8% of TV households by end-2015, and will rise to 63.4% by end-2021. Penetration at end-2021 will range from 80.3% in North America (slowly falling as cord-cutting makes a limited impact) to 24.2% in the Middle East and North Africa.