Brazil pay-TV to resume growth as economy improves

The number of Brazilian subscribers to pay-TV services fell 4.3% between April 2015 and April 2016, but growth is expected to pick up in the coming months as the macroeconomic conditions become more favorable.

This is the view of Oscar Simões, head of Brazil's pay-TV association ABTA, who chaired a press conference on Tuesday on the performance of the industry.

Citing data from Brazil's central bank, Simões noted that the country's GDP declined 5.75% in the same period.

According to telecoms regulator Anatel, Brazil ended April with 18.9mn pay-TV accesses and a service penetration of 28.3%. Lower income segments, often subscribers to satellite pay-TV, have been the worst affected by the macroeconomic conditions in the country.

Many of them have canceled their pay-TV contracts under the pressure of high inflation and high unemployment.

SURVEY

ABTA released preliminary results from a survey conducted by consultancy Plano CDE among 500 middle-income people from all over the country, which showed that pay-TV is the main leisure activity for 74% of them.

Another study found that pay-TV recorded its highest ratings ever in the first quarter this year, with more than 2mn viewers per minute, doubling the audience of pay-TV channels in the last three years.