Arya News - This trend reflects the growing consumer shift toward digital and OTT (over-the-top) streaming platforms, which have disrupted traditional television consumption patterns.
NEW DELHI – A recent report has highlighted that India’s cable television sector has experienced a sharp downturn over the past seven years, with an estimated 577,000 cumulative job losses between 2018 and 2025.
The decline is primarily attributed to the steady erosion of the pay-TV subscriber base, it said.
According to the report titled ‘State of Cable TV Distribution in India’, jointly prepared by the All India Digital Cable Federation (AIDCF) and EY India, the Pay-TV subscriber base dropped from 151 million in 2018 to 111 million in 2024 and is expected to fall further to between 71-81 million by 2030.
This trend reflects the growing consumer shift toward digital and OTT (over-the-top) streaming platforms, which have disrupted traditional television consumption patterns.
Cumulative revenues of four direct-to-home (DTH) players and ten major cable TV providers, or multi-system operators (MSOs), have declined by more than 16 per cent since 2018, while their margins have reduced by 29 per cent, the report said.
In FY19, their combined revenue stood at Rs 25,700 crore, which dropped to Rs 21,500 crore in FY24. Combined Ebitda fell to Rs 3,100 crore in FY24 from Rs 4,400 crore in FY19.
The study drew inputs from 28,181 local cable operators (LCOs) across 34 states and union territories.
It further highlighted that to ensure a level playing field, a regulatory parity across all content distribution platforms, including cable TV, DTH, headend-in-the-sky (HITS), and internet protocol television (IPTV) is required.
It also recommended allowing differential pricing for pay-TV services based on regional affordability and called for reactivation of more than 20 million inactive STBs, referring to subscribers who have not renewed their services.
The report also recommended restricting the free or delayed broadcast of pay-TV content on other platforms and emphasised the need for a unified industry response to tackle piracy.