Cable tops Costa Rica’s decelerating pay-TV market
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Juan Fernandez Gonzalez
| 04 July 2017

Costa Rica’s pay-TV sector ended 2016 on a positive footing, with over 820,000 subscribers, but was a little slow compared to the previous year.

The figures, just published by the country’s telecom authority Sutel, reveal that cable TV providers clearly dominate the market, accounting for 67% of total subscriptions.

Satellite TV players have a 31% share, with almost the same number of subscribers as in 2015, and IPTV providers, non-existent two years ago, have gained 2% of the market.

The numbers also show that the market grew by 3% year-on-year, reaching 821,000 total households and placing Costa Rica as one of Central America’s largest pay-TV markets.

However, the growth rate (which was 9% year-on-year in 2015) decreased from 7% during first half of 2016 to 3% in the last two quarters.

The Sutel report highlights the rapid evolution of the market during the last five years. In 2012, pay-TV households were just above 40% of the total homes, while, by the end of 2016, penetration rate stood at 56%.