The Pay TV conundrum: Big subscriber losses, but only modest viewership drop

New Delhi: An All India Digital Cable Federation (AIDCF) report released earlier this month painted a grim picture of Pay TV distribution in India, with the staggering claim that 40 million Pay TV homes have been lost over the last seven years.

Developed in collaboration with EY India, the report highlighted that Pay TV households declined by 40 million, from 151 million in 2018 to 111 million in 2024.

This marks a decline of 26.5% in Pay TV households in India over the last seven years.

In a report titled ‘State of Pay DTH Subscription and Players in India’ published earlier this week, BestMediaInfo noted that Pay Cable TV subscriptions dropped by 35%, while Pay DTH subscriptions lost 16%. The decline in Pay DTH subscriptions stands at 21.42% from its peak in 2019.

With the rapid rise of OTT and CTV in India, many households now prefer to keep both Pay TV and OTT connections.

Several broadcast veterans told BestMediaInfo that, in principle, there is a direct correlation between the number of Pay TV households and viewership. Additionally, Pay TV homes that also have OTT connections would further impact TV viewership.

However, a simple comparison of Pay TV viewership numbers released by BARC India shows that Pay TV viewership declined by only 13%, just half the drop seen in household numbers.

The television ratings agency, set up by industry bodies IBDF, AAAI, and ISA, began releasing separate data for Pay TV and Free TV in the last week of June 2019. From July to December 2019, the average monthly gross AMA for total Pay TV stood at 115,377,263.

In the first five full months of 2025, the average monthly gross AMA stands at 100,307,389, marking a drop of only 13%.

BestMediaInfo sent a specific query to BARC India seeking its response to explain the sharp difference between the reported decline in Pay TV households and the relatively smaller drop in Pay TV viewership. The response, if any, will be added to this story as and when BARC India chooses to respond.

When a similar question was put to industry stakeholders, at least four broadcast veterans and advertisers expressed surprise, both positive and negative.

One broadcast veteran said that the numbers suggest content quality on linear TV has improved, resulting in more viewership even with fewer TV households.

“This is quite a contrast to what DPOs claim about falling standards of content on television. If that were the case, how could the drop in viewership be only half of the decline in Pay TV households?” quipped the veteran.

A senior executive closely associated with the Indian Society of Advertisers told BestMediaInfo on the condition of anonymity that the advertiser body had never analysed the viewership numbers from this angle, despite keeping abreast of shifting consumer behaviour.

“Prima facie, it appears to be a case of inflating viewership numbers, which BARC India can answer,” the executive said.

When asked about genre-wise shifts in viewership, a senior industry observer said that live sports gained massive traction in the first two years of COVID-19 and built further on that momentum.

“Other genres like Hindi and English general entertainment, news, and music failed to sustain the momentum they gained during the Covid years. In all, it is established that television is here to stay as a crucial medium for both advertisers and consumers,” the observer concluded.