Paid Broadcasting Subscribers Decrease for the First Time... Down by About 30,000 from the Previous Quarter

37,000 Decrease in Second Half of 2023
Trend of Declining Subscribers for Cable and Satellite Broadcasting

The number of paid broadcasting subscribers in South Korea turned to a decline for the first time in the second half of last year.

The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on the 16th that the number of paid broadcasting subscribers in the second half of 2023 was 36,310,106, a decrease of 37,389 (0.1%) compared to the first half of last year.

This is the first time since the survey of paid broadcasting subscribers in the second half of 2015 that the number of subscribers has decreased.

By media type, IPTV subscribers have steadily increased over the past three years, accounting for 20,925,902 (57.63%) as of the second half of last year. Although it increased by 0.54% compared to the first half of last year, the growth rate is gradually slowing down.

The number of cable TV (SO) subscribers was 12,541,500 (34.54%), and satellite broadcasting subscribers were 2,842,704 (7.83%). Both decreased by 0.71% and 2.04%, respectively, compared to the first half of last year.

Market share also saw IPTV expand by 0.36 percentage points from the previous half, while SO (-0.21 percentage points) and satellite broadcasting (-0.16 percentage points) continued to decline.

By operator, IPTV showed strength with KT at 8,827,392 (24.31%), SK Broadband at 6,684,857 (18.41%), and LG Uplus at 5,413,653 (14.91%). Cable TV operator LG HelloVision (3,619,909; 9.97%) and satellite broadcaster KT Skylife (2,842,704; 7.83%) followed.