Digital gains but Eastern Europe to lose 5MN pay-TV subs to 2026
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Joseph O'Halloran
| 26 March 2021
In keeping with, but by no means as bad as, other key territories in particularly the US, Eastern Europe is set to see its pay-TV sector shrink over the next five years but will see gains as its digital sector slowly replaces analogue cable says a study from Digital TV Research.

ee pay 2021 chartThe Eastern Europe Pay TV Forecasts report predicts that overall between 2020 and 2026 Eastern Europe will lose nearly 5 million pay-TV subscribers to take the total to 78.18 million. Overall, pay-TV will be taken by 63% of the region’s TV homes in 2026, down from 66% in 2020.

The analyst added that the number of digital pay-TV subscribers will increase by nearly 6 million between 2020 and 2026 to 76 million. Digital pay-TV penetration is set to climb from 56% to 62% over the same period.

The on the Eastern Europe Pay TV Forecasts report, also found that there were still 12.6 million analogue cable subscribers in the region by the end of 2020. Of this cohort, Digital TV Research said most of the remaining analogue cable TV subscribers were “paying very little to receive very little” and that these homes were reluctant or unable to upgrade to more expensive digital pay-TV.