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This study is part of the Frost & Sullivan Digital Media research, with a base year of 2018 and a focus on pay TV market dynamics in the United States. Pay television is a video viewing service where content from multiple broadcasters, production houses and TV channels are transmitted through cable, satellite and/or ADSL/VDSL/fiber. Consumers pay a subscription fee for a set period of time based on the type of content consumed.

The pay TV industry in the United States is mature and increasingly saturated. Approximately 94% of households in the country own a television and more than two-thirds of these households pay for a television subscription. This number has been rapidly declining in the recent past for a whole host of reasons relating to the changing nature of the television and internet business, competition, pricing, choice and experience. The growth of connected devices and the proliferation of high-speed broadband have given rise to hundreds of internet-based subscription and transaction-based video on demand (VOD) offerings as well as virtual multichannel video programming distributor (vMVPD) offerings and skinny bundles. Viewers today have more choice than at any point in the past – this intensifies audience fragmentation and adversely impacts subscriber numbers and revenue forecasts, while also limiting average revenue per user (ARPU) growth in this industry. In parallel, other forces such as rising programming costs and declining advertising revenues, combined with increasing subscriber acquisition and retention costs, act to erode profitability for all players in this industry. However, pay TV subscriptions are still widely regarded as the primary way to access live news and sports content. In order to keep up with changing consumer viewing preferences and in an attempt to control subscriber churn, the pay TV industry has evolved over the past 3-5 years with service providers across cable, satellite and IPTV industries foraying into TV Everywhere offerings. Providers have also invested in advanced features and value-added services to compete effectively in this intense and dynamic market.

In this study, we take a look at the US pay TV industry – how subscriptions, revenues and ARPUs have fared since 2017, what factors drive this market, and what factors challenge this market. You will also read about how sources of competition have changed, how M&A activity affects subscribers and pricing in this market, what are the key trends to watch out for, some predictions and recommendations. The study also contains market forecasts for pay TV subscriptions, revenues and ARPUs through to 2024, segmented by cable, satellite and IPTV providers.