Subscriber Gap Between Cable TV and IPTV Expands to 5.41 Million

34.58 Million Paid Broadcasting Subscribers in the Second Half of Last Year... 640,000 Increase Compared to the First Half
Continued Growth in IPTV Subscribers and Decline in SO Subscribers... Gap Widens to 5.41 Million

[Asia Economy Reporter Eunmo Koo] As the number of Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) subscribers continues to rise and the number of Comprehensive Cable Television (SO) subscribers declines, the gap between the two services has widened to an all-time high of over 5 million subscribers. Among service providers, KT maintained its position as the number one player in the paid broadcasting market.

The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on the 26th the finalized results of the "Subscriber Survey, Verification, and Market Share Calculation for SO, Satellite Broadcasting, and IPTV in the Second Half of Last Year."

The total number of paid broadcasting subscribers as of the second half of last year was 34,583,329 (6-month average), an increase of 640,000 compared to the first half of last year. Although the subscriber growth slowed to around 300,000 in the first half, it rose again to around 600,000 in the second half. In particular, IPTV's subscriber count and market share showed steady growth.

Looking at the average number of subscribers over six months by media type, IPTV had 18,254,930 subscribers (52.79%), increasing its market share by 1.27 percentage points compared to six months earlier, while SO had 13,232,850 subscribers (38.26%), with its market share decreasing by 1.15 percentage points. Satellite broadcasting was recorded at 3,095,549 subscribers. Since November 2017, when IPTV surpassed SO in subscriber numbers, IPTV has continued to grow while SO has declined, widening the subscriber gap between IPTV and SO to approximately 5.41 million as of the end of December last year.

By service provider, KT held the top spot in the paid broadcasting market. The subscriber counts were as follows: KT with 7,872,660 (22.76%), SK Broadband (IPTV) with 5,546,012 (16.04%), LG Uplus with 4,836,258 (13.98%), LG HelloVision with 3,865,772 (11.18%), KT Skylife with 3,095,549 (8.95%), and SK Broadband (SO) with 2,978,493 (8.61%).

Combining KT and KT Skylife subscribers totals 10.97 million, LG Uplus and LG HelloVision combined have 8.7 million, and SK Broadband (IPTV and SO combined) has 8.52 million subscribers, accounting for 31.72%, 25.16%, and 24.65% of the paid broadcasting market share, respectively.

By subscriber type, individual subscribers numbered 16,628,814 (48.08% market share), multiple subscribers 15,408,680 (44.56%), and group subscribers 2,545,835 (7.36%).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.