Latin America Market Watch 2021: The Monetization Advantage of Satellite and Pay TV

As digital adoption proliferates across Latin America, programmers in the region are asking how to get the most value out of their broadening content offerings.
Intelsat’s Media Market Watch 2021 illustrates the relevant trends fueling subscriber growth, and illustrates how satellite connectivity remains the best means of taking advantage of the upturn.

Increasingly, programmers in Latin America are looking to capitalize on the content they bring to viewers. Subscriptions and advertising potential have always been key drivers, and current market trends indicate they will continue to drive monetization efforts for years to come. The following are key elements accelerating increased revenue potential from Pay TV subscriptions and advertising:

Digital transformation
Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) is steadily being adopted across Latin America, pushing cable digitization, more affordable packages, and the development of HD content and HD-enabled TV sets.

Traditional meets over-the-top
It’s becoming more common for customers to have OTT services offered as a bundle with their Pay TV subscriptions, providing programmers with the opportunity to strengthen viewer retention.

More quality content means more revenue
More attractive channel lineups are driving more opportunities for generating advertising dollars.

Pay TV is still the largest source of revenue in the Latin America region, with increases expected largely from traditional forms of video distribution, like cable and IPTV.

Cable revenue is projected to grow from $5.8B in 2020 to $6.9B in 2025.

TV advertising is projected to grow from $7.9B to 9.1B by 2024 compared to Internet advertising, which is only projected to reach $443M by 2024.

So, what’s the best way for operators in Latin America to take advantage of these opportunities? Satellite. Connectivity through Intelsat provides a lower-cost distribution solution, reaches over 46 million Pay TV subscribers pan-regionally, and carries the most-watched programming.

Overall, the demand for higher-quality content, coupled with satellite’s dynamic capabilities and huge advertising advantages, mean good business for Pay TV in Latin America.

See more details in our full report.

Download Media Market Watch 2021: A Complete Guide to Pay TV Opportunities in the Latin America Region