According to information recently reported by the Agencia Nacional de Telecomunicaciones (Anatel), the telecommunications regulator in Brazil, the pay TV market recorded a 5.6% loss on its total subscribers base during 2020, and 828 thousand customers less compared to 2019. The sector ended the year with 14,856 million subscribers, continuing the decline in customers that has been reported in these last years.

This way, in November, the pay TV subscriber base in Brazil reported less than 15 million clients, thus featuring similar figures to 2012. However, the decrease in subscribers was less than that of 2019, which, always according to Anatel, was valued at 1.83 million customers, that is, 11% of the total pay TV market customer base.

According to Anatel’s report, the operator with the greatest loss of customers was Claro (America Movil), which lost 776 thousand customers in 2020, that is, 11% of its base. The company ended December with 6.99 million subscribers, of which 6.13 million belong to its cable offering, and 853 thousand to that of DTH. In the case of Sky (AT&T), the annual loss was 173 thousand subscribers, to end the year at 4,156 million, Telefonica, whose operations in Brazil are known under the ‘Vivo’ brand, also made a decrease on its subscribers base: it ended December with 1,247 million customers; 72 thousand less than in 2019. Oi, however, was the only operator that achieved a positive balance on its customer base. The company, which has just added Netflix as part of its IPTV offer, ended the month with 1.69 million subscribers, 10% more than in 2019.

In addition, Anatel reported that in 2020 there was a growth in the pay TV customer base via IPTV, which increased by more than 310 thousand subscribers, mostly belonging to Vivo TV, andended the year with 1,114 million customers.