Total pay‑TV subscriptions declined 1.8% in the fourth quarter, dropping from 1.58 million to 1.55 million.

The fall is attributed to customers moving to internet‑based IPTV services and higher set‑top‑box costs driven by global chipset price hikes.

Digital terrestrial TV, dominated by GOtv and StarTimes, remained the largest segment with 874,777 subscriptions, about 56% of the market.

GOtv’s subscriber base grew 21.3% year‑on‑year to 381,383, while StarTimes added just over a thousand to reach 493,394.

MultiChoice’s DStv recorded the fastest growth among satellite providers, rising 37.2% year‑on‑year to 259,047 subscriptions.

Broader market shifts

While DStv and GOtv expanded, other satellite services saw declines: Wananchi’s Zuku fell 16.4% to 157,051 and StarTimes’ satellite offering slipped 3.1%.

Cable TV continued its rapid contraction, with total cable subscriptions collapsing 54.8% to just 30,240 nationwide.

Implications for households and businesses

Higher decoder prices are limiting new customer acquisition for broadcasters, even as existing subscribers remain relatively stable, effectively freezing net growth.

Regulatory outlook

The Communications Authority assigned 10,554 microwave‑link frequencies and 978 FM broadcasting frequencies in Q4, modest increases that nonetheless reflect a slight overall decline in spectrum allocations for broadcast infrastructure over the fiscal year.