China: number of pay TV subscribers 2027

The number of pay TV subscribers in China is decreasing. In 2020, there were around 327.2 million pay TV subscribers and the number was projected to increase to 345 million by 2027. The most populous country in the world has the largest pay TV subscription base in APAC region.

Biggest pay TV markets

Compared with other countries, China has already achieved the largest number of pay TV subscribers since 2015. In 2021, second-placed India had about 164 million pay TV subscribers, and the United States, ranked third, had about 75 million. While the figures of China and the United States are expected to slightly drop in the next years, India has show a growth projection. India is forecasted to have over 180 million pay TV subscribers by 2026. Much of the growth of pay TV households is attributed by specialists to government policy to consolidate cable TV operations.

Pay TV market players

China is also home of the leading pay TV provider in the world - China Radio & TV. Nearly 252 million people were expected to subscribe to China Radio & TV services in 2020. American company Liberty Global would go from being the second to the fourth largest pay TV provider worldwide by 2020, as two Chinese providers are projected to gain space in the market. Beijing-based China Telecom, one of leading telecommunication provider in the country, is forecast to become the second largest pay TV provider in the world, with about 28 million paying subscribers. BesTV, a subsidiary of Shanghai Media Group (SMG), is expected to rank third in number of subscribers, just behind China Telecom.