Pay TV homes fall by 40 mn, 1.14-1.95 lakh job cut at local cable operators since 2018

New Delhi: The number of paid TV homes fell by 40 million to 111 million in 2024 from 151 million in 2018, leading to an estimated employment reduction of 1.14 lakh to 1.95 lakh by the local cable operators, according to a report.

The employment generated by the LCOs has fallen by 31 per cent since 2018, according to findings of a joint report by the industry body All India Digital Cable Federation (AICPDF) and EY India.

The decline in pay TV homes is due to growing popularity and adoption of digital means of content consumption, such as OTT platforms, connected TVs and free DTH service, which led to a fall from 151 million in 2018 to 111 million in 2024.

"The impact of this decline in pay TV homes has been significant, particularly on the local cable operator (LCO) ecosystem," said the report titled "State of Cable TV Distribution in India".

The impact of this decline in pay TV homes has been significant, particularly on the local cable operator (LCO) ecosystem, said the report, which is based on a survey of 28,181 LCOs between November and December 2024.

They collectively reported reducing the number of employed people by 37,835.

"The key impact of this decline is that employment generated by the LCOs has fallen by 31 per cent since 2018," the report said, adding "Extrapolating this to all-India level, the approximate reduction could be between 1.14 lakh and 1.95 lakh, given that TRAI data suggests there are approximately 85,000 registered LCOs in India and AIDCF's 12 members claim 1.62 lakh LCOs between them."

The study further said 93 per cent of LCOs reported a decline in their subscriber base, and 49 per cent reported a drop in their monthly income.

Besides, 35 per cent of the LCO reported a subscriber loss of over 40 per cent from 2018.

According to the study, the key challenge faced by the LCOs is their inability to increase collections from customers when broadcasting majors have increased their channel rates.

Moreover, another factor which are leading to cord-cutting is a lack of "quality content on linear TV", which is not on par with the quality of content on OTT platforms.

There is also a "decline in second TV set connections" within households, besides "consumers' movement from pay TV to OTT platforms, Free Dish and Connected TVs".

The study has pot views from the cable industry that could be evaluated, including " a level-playing field across all content distribution mediums —Free TV, OTT platforms, FAST channels and pay TV" and "permitting differential pay TV pricing for different territories based on their ability to pay."

Commenting on the report, AIDCF President and CEO of DEN Networks, S N Sharma, said it provides a comprehensive bottom-up view of the Pay TV distribution sector in recent times.

"We urge all stakeholders — including broadcasters, regulators, and our parent ministry — to use the report as a base to bring practical reforms and support the cable TV industry to thrive once again,” he said.