Communications Regulatory Authority

1.1.2. Audiovisuals
The world television services sector
In late 2005, the world television services sector (Figure 1.13.) reached a total
value of around 235 billion euro, a 4.6% increase over the previous year.
Figure 1.13. The world television services sector (revenues in billion euro)
Source: IDATE
Africa/Middle
East
Latin America
Asia/Pacific
Europe
North America
As for the geographic areas, no substantial changes are registered. The North
American area confirms its leading position with around 44% of the resources, followed
by Europe, whose share (28.8%) decreases slightly.
Advertising is still the main source of financing, but the greatest growth in
percentage terms is registered with reference to the revenues from the pay-TV services.
The change in the distribution of the financing sources reflects a structural change of the
sector.
In fact, the digitalization of the networks enables the distribution of a
multiplicity of contents over a wide range of platforms: terrestrial (fixed and mobile),
satellite, cable (and fibre optics), and telephone network (copper and xDSL
technologies). This process of the gaining of ground by multichannel platforms has been
altering, for some years now, the competitive balances of the sector, determining a
greater fragmentation of the television viewing audience, with effects, in particular, on
the domestic television advertising collection markets.
Digitalization is, first of all, present in the traditional pay-TV networks: satellite
and cable, in which the operators are proceeding with renewed vigour in the transition
of their infrastructure to digital technology. It is also starting to gain ground in terrestrial
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