The total number of subscribers to the 100 television services in the informitv Multiscreen Index rose by 4.03 million or 0.93% in the last quarter of 2016. 61 of the 100 services in the Multiscreen Index reported net subscriber gains in the quarter, compared to 67 in the same period the previous year.
The number of subscribers to services in the Americas fell by 50,000, with the top 10 services in the United States declining by 162,000.
The Asia Pacific region saw the greatest growth, up by 2.36 million, with the top 10 services gaining 1.80 million subscribers.
The number of subscribers rose by 1.72 million across the Europe, Middle East and Africa region. Sky added 397,000 customers across Europe, including 170,000 in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
The largest quarterly gain was for Canal+ Africa, up by 516,000, although Canal+ lost 130,000 in mainland France.
The largest loss was for AT&T U-verse, down 262,000, as the American telecommunications company promoted its DIRECTV satellite subsidiary, which added 235,000.
It is the second fall in subscriber numbers for the Americas region, although a comparatively small reduction. The last decline was in the second quarter of 2016, when it fell by 290,000, increasing by 250,000 the following quarter.
“While the subscriber numbers for some services in the Americas are flat or falling, we are still seeing growth in other regions, with cable and satellite remaining robust worldwide,” said Dr William Cooper, the editor of the Multiscreen Index, which also tracks the availability of services on screens other than the traditional television.
“88 of the 100 services offer some form of multiscreen access, now available to 90% of homes subscribing to services in the index,” said analyst Dr Sue Farrell. “The adoption of multiscreen viewing is much lower, although the next generation of online services is now aiming at a new generation of video viewers.”
The informitv Multiscreen Index tracks subscriber numbers for 100 leading pay-TV services worldwide and is published quarterly.