Latin America is poised to add 19 million new satellite-TV households by 2018, outpacing cable, which is expected to add about 14 million new digital household over the same period.
That’s according to a new report from Digital TV Research, which goes on to say that much of the growth is coming from lower-cost and prepaid satellite packages, which have gained an edge over cable operators that have been “slow to react to the benefits of digital TV and bundles.†Cable operators in Latin America—much the same as those in North America and Western Europe—could struggle with plunging subscriber numbers as current subs abandon their analog cable for other digital options, like satellite and IPTV.
The report, Digital TV Latin America, forecasts contends that Puerto Rico is expected to be the only Latin American country to complete the conversion to digital by 2018, retiring analog by 2015.
Regionally, digital TV penetration is expected to reach 53 percent by 2018, up from the current 38 percent. That translates into an additional 30 million more pay-TV homes, with the bulk (14 million) added in Brazil and Mexico (6 million).
Pay-TV revenues will increase to $26.7 billion in the region by 2018 from $18.2 billion in 2012. DTH will maintain the lion’s share of that revenue, with revenues of $20.1 billion in 2018, up from $13.4 billion today. Brazil ($10.8 billion) and Mexico ($5.8 billion) will lead the region.
Netflix and other content companies have targeted Latin America as significant growth markets, stimulating business for companies that provider services like DRM, content security, and search and discovery.
