Pay TV Hits $240 Billion, Despite OTT Temptation

Market research firm Infonetics Research released excerpts from its "Cable, Satellite, and IPTV Video Services and Subscribers" report, which tracks the telco Internet protocol television (IPTV), cable video, and satellite video markets. The report indicates continued growth in the pay TV market, largely driven by service bundles, linear and on-demand content, and advanced services."Although cable MSOs continued to be challenged by competition from IPTV and satellite operators, the overall market remains robust, despite the attractiveness of over-the-top (OTT) services," noted Teresa Mastrangelo, Infonetics' directing analyst for video, in a statement.Among the report's highlights:

• Worldwide revenue derived by providers of IPTV, cable video, and satellite video services grew to $240 billion in 2010, up 11% over 2009.



• Video services experiencing the strongest revenue growth are IPTV services (up 45% in 2010) and satellite video services (up 13%).



• Cable video services continue to make up (by far) the largest portion of total video service revenue, although growth in the cable video service segment is slowing.



• DirecTV, which enjoys the highest video service ARPU in the industry, is the global leader for video service revenue.



• With more than 22.8 million video service subscribers worldwide, Comcast maintains its lead in the race for subscribers.



• In 2010, the fastest growing video services markets were in Asia Pacific and Central and Latin America, driven by analog-to-digital conversion activity and strong new subscriber growth in markets such as Brazil, India, Malaysia and Mexico.