According to Dataxis, pay TV subscriptions in former USSR countries reached 53.2 million in the first quarter of 2018, a 3% year-on-year growth. In line with global trends, cable TV declined by 2% year-on-year in the region.
However, cable remains the most common way of accessing pay TV content with 44% of connections at the beginning of 2018. The share of cable TV is higher in Ukraine, Armenia, Lithuania and Moldova. For some smaller-size operators in these countries, more than half of the subscriber base is still using analogue signal. According to industry players, 100% migration of subscribers towards digital is not going to happen for two to three years, analysts say.
The strongest growth is coming from IPTV (19%), with successful operators such as Rostelecom in Russia, OLL TV in Ukraine and Beltelecom in Belarus. The penetration of this technology among pay TV subscribers is also particularly strong in Georgia, where it is driven by broadband expansion.
