By Jonathan Easton

IPTV is set to overtake cable TV on a global scale within five years.

According to a new report from Digital TV Research,  IPTV will add 63 million subscribers between 2021 and 2026 to total 398 million. The total of cable subscribers meanwhile will decrease from 439 million in 2021 to 390 million by 2026.

China will be the largest IPTV market by far with 226 million subscribers by 2026, leaving only 172 million for the rest of the world. China will add 19 million IPTV subscribers between 2021 and 2026 while losing 39 million cable TV subscribers during the same period to end 2026 with 89 million subscribers.

Overall, there will be a global increase of 13 million more pay TV subscribers between 2021 and 2026 to take the global total to 1.01 billion. Of that total, China will contribute 315 million, with India bringing in 178 million. Between them, the two countries will make up half the world’s pay TV subscribers by 2026.

Principal Analyst at Digital TV Research, Simon Murray said: “The main reason for this is China where the huge shift from cable TV to IPTV will continue.”