Rival StarTimes is expected to experience similar growth to climb by 4.39 million. GOtv's sister operator and satellite TV platform DStv is expected to gain 4.32 million subs and satellite TV platform Canal Plus 1.34 million.
The pan-Arab satellite TV services are also expected to add subs, with beIN Sports up by 768,000 and OSN by 630,000. Other big strides are expected to take place in Russia, with Tricolor up by 2,473,000, Orion by 910,000 and Rostelcom by 873,000. Liberty Global is expected to add 869,000 subs in Central and Eastern Europe.
Tricolor, Russia's low-cost satellite TV platform, is expected to remain the largest pay TV operator by subscribers. Pan-African DStv is expected to climb to second place, climbing 56% to 12.06 million subs. Sister company GOtv is expected to occupy fourth place by 2020. Rival StarTimes is also expected to show strong growth.
Pay TV subscriptions across 33 territories in EMEA are expected to nearly double from a collective 56.5 million in 2010 to 102.1 million by 2020. Covering 182 platforms, these operators represent more than 90% of the EMEA region's pay TV subscribers.
However, not all of the operators will add subscribers, with 14 expected to decrease between 2014 and 2020. Romania's RCS-RDS is expected to lose 477,000 TV subs between 2014 and 2020, followed by pan-Arab ART (down 293,000) and Hungary's Digi TV (down by 88,000 subs).
Total subscription and VOD revenues for operators in the region are expected to nearly double between 2010 and 2020 to almost $15 billion. The revenue numbers do not include other revenues such as broadband, telephony, advertising, equipment sales and rental, etc.
