Report Overview

Pay-TV resilience – How this time is different

When we look back at consumer expenditure on pay-TV and alternative entertainment options during past economic downturns across major countries, we find a broad confirmation of the industry’s comparative resilience

Also found are variations between services sold through annual contracts and cancel-anytime rivals, a negative impact on big-ticket products, and opportunities for substitutional services

Unique features in the current crisis include the suspension of sport broadcasts and an SVOD-rich offering which widens consumer options. If hardship persists, incumbents like Sky could face tougher times than during the financial crisis

Contents

Historical evidence

Tentative lessons

But this time is different

List of charts/tables

Figure 1: Impact of 2008-09 recession on consumer spending

Figure 2: Subprime crisis and Sky (YoY growth)

Figure 3: US pay-TV during the subprime crisis (annual growth)

Figure 4: Consumer spending on pay-TV in Italy (annual growth)

Figure 5: Sky Italia and Mediaset during the euro crisis in Italy (YoY growth)

Figure 6: French pay-TV annual revenue growth across two crises

Figure 7: Cinema admissions during the subprime crisis (2006 = 100)