The total pay-TV services revenue in China is set to decline at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 1.2% between 2019 and 2024, from US$24.8 billion in 2019 to US$23.3 billion in 2024, due to growing substitution with over-the-top (OTT) video services and falling pay-TV average revenue per user (ARPU), according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

GlobalData’s China Telecom Operators Country Intelligence Report forecasts that although cable TV is currently the leading pay-TV platform in China, its subscriptions will decline at a CAGR of 5.7% over 2019-2024. On the other hand, IPTV will become the leading pay-TV technology in 2021 and will go on to account for 59% share of the total pay-TV subscriptions in 2024. The growth of IPTV subscriptions will be primarily supported by the expansion of fiber-optic network and widespread proliferation of high-speed fiber broadband services across the country.

Deepa Dhingra, Telecom Analyst at GlobalData, says: “The pay-TV penetration of household in China will slightly fall from 85.0% in 2019 to an estimated 81.0% by 2024, amid the intense competition from pure play over-the-top (OTT) video streaming services such as iQiyi.

“China Telecom will remain the leading pay-TV service provider over 2019-2024, supported by its strong foothold in the IPTV segment. The operator has been focusing on promoting its multi-play plans bundling fiber broadband and IPTV services to compete in the market.”