Pay TV will lose 1,6 million customers in 2025, reaching its lowest level since 2009.

247 - The Brazilian pay-TV market ended 2025 with 7,6 million active subscriptions, after losing 1,6 million customers throughout the year. This decline represents a 17,7% drop compared to 2024 and brings the sector to its lowest level since 2009, when there were 7,5 million subscribers.

The numbers were published by Poder360This is based on official data from Anatel (National Telecommunications Agency) regarding the end of the year. The decline reinforces a prolonged trend: compared to 2014, when the segment totaled 19,6 million active points, the current base represents a reduction of 61,1%.

Structural collapse and the end of a cycle.

The accelerated loss of customers in 2025 does not appear as an isolated event, but as a continuation of a process of decline that intensified in the last decade. Pay TV, which was once synonymous with a variety of channels and access to exclusive content, has begun to compete with a digital ecosystem that is increasingly present in the daily lives and on the screens of Brazilians.

The key fact of the year — "lost 1,6 million customers by 2025" — highlights the magnitude of the challenge. In practical terms, it means fewer subscription renewals, more cancellations, and a market that needs to reposition itself in the face of technological changes and shifts in consumer habits, as well as economic pressures that make cost-cutting a recurring practice in households.

Changes in consumption patterns and the rise of streaming.

The decline in pay TV is occurring in parallel with the growth of online video platforms. According to data from Kantar Ibope cited in the survey, in December 2025 digital platforms reached 37,2% of the audience share in the country, the highest level in the historical series considered.

In the same analysis, free-to-air TV maintained a 55,8% share of the total audience, while pay TV accounted for 6,9% of tuned-in devices. According to the data, the measurement considers all devices, which helps explain why consumption is shifting more visibly towards platforms and apps.

Among the platforms, YouTube led in viewership with 21,6%, followed by Netflix (5,6%) and TikTok (5,0%). The result reinforces the perception that "prime time" has become fragmented: a significant portion of the audience has stopped relying on linear schedules and has started consuming video on demand, across multiple screens, with a preference for short content, algorithmic recommendations, and extensive catalogs.

In this context, the figure of 37,2% takes on symbolic value as it represents a turning point: "Online video platforms accounted for 37,2% of the country's audience share."According to the survey, for pay TV, this means competing not only with a "new channel," but with a completely different consumption model.

Impact on the media market and journalism

The loss of subscribers also impacts the media ecosystem, as pay TV remains a relevant distribution channel for specialized channels — especially in journalism, where there are at least eight news channels operating in this format.

With a smaller subscriber base, these channels become even more dependent on other distribution and monetization methods, in a scenario of intense competition for attention. The logic is straightforward: fewer subscribers means less potential reach on cable and, in many cases, less commercial appeal for certain formats, which can put pressure on revenues and programming strategies.

Poder360 itself recorded, in February 2025, that the five main news channels in Brazil had an average audience of 111.792 viewers throughout 2024, 24 hours a day — a level that is likely to be further pressured if pay TV continues to shrink year after year, as recent data shows.

Sector concentration and dominance by a few operators.

Despite the decline, the market structure remains highly concentrated. According to the data presented, 95,7% of pay-TV operations in Brazil are in the hands of five companies, indicating a sector with a few large groups supporting almost the entire remaining subscriber base.

Claro leads with 4.092.391 accesses (53,7%). Sky follows with 2.116.031 accesses (27,8%). Vivo occupies third place with 733.292 accesses (9,6%). Mileto — cited as the company that bought part of Oi — has 320.848 accesses (4,2%). Telemidia completes the list with 33.865 accesses (0,4%).

This design reinforces two simultaneous trends: on one hand, the migration of consumers to digital alternatives; on the other, the consolidation of a "smaller" market, but one that is more dependent on a few operators to maintain scale and operations.

What does the new audience map signal?

The December 2025 snapshot presented by Kantar Ibope suggests that the focus of the competition has shifted to attention—and not just infrastructure. Free-to-air TV still holds the largest share, but digital platforms are expanding their presence and rapidly capturing screen time.

For pay TV, the challenge is not simply about "losing customers," but about responding to profound changes: the audience wants flexibility, personalization, and content without programming barriers. At the same time, part of the traditional market still carries costs and business models designed for a previous reality, when cable was the main shortcut to variety and segmentation.

Prospects for 2026

With the sector at its lowest level since 2009 and far from the peak recorded in 2014, the data points to a 2026 of readjustments and attempts at adaptation. In a scenario of consolidated streaming and multiplatform consumption, pay TV tends to seek retention and differentiation strategies, whether through leaner packages, integration with apps and platforms, or repositioning in niches that still value linear channels.

However, the 2025 figures make it clear that the transformation has already happened in practice: while pay TV is declining to 7,6 million active points, digital platforms are occupying a historic share of the audience. The result is a rapidly changing video market—one that, along with technology, is redefining content distribution, the media economy, and how audiences get their information and entertainment.