DTH goes through the roof in post-World Cup LATAM

[Thakur]

Stable subscriber figures and an increase
in the importance of direct-to-home
(DTH) services characterise the pay-TV
industry in Latin America post- World
Cup, according to latest report from
Business Bureau, Market Estimates.
While subscriber figures remain stable in
the Argentinean market, nearing 11
million, competition among operators is
on the increase and the market looks
almost saturated, according to Business
Bureau analysts. Satellite services already
represent 28.2% of pay-TV platforms,
being the preferred system for new
subscribers.
The same trend has been observed in
Chile, where DTH services already
represent 50% of pay-TV customers. In a
market with 3.2 million subs,
competition is fierce among the leading
operators, namely Claro (17.7% share),
Movistar (16.6%) and DirectTV (16.1%).
New subscribers also prefer DTH in
Colombia, where satellite systems
represent 20% of the eight million
subscriptions. The market share is over
30% in Ecuador, where there are over
one million subs and the pay-TV industry
has been experiencing marked growth in
recent years.
Thanks to the success of Movistar TV and
CAN TV in Venezuela, satellite services
already represent 45% of the pay-TV
market in the country. Venezuela has 5.4
million subs, and Business Bureau
expects the DTH figures to continue to
grow in the coming months.
The last two countries studied by the
consultancy firm, Peru and Uruguay,
also have 20% of their subscribers
paying for a satellite platform. While
Peru has 2.6 million subs, Uruguay has
800,000, and both markets show
preference for DTH among new
subscribers.
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