Need a reason to be optimistic heading into the new year? According to new research from Digital TV Research, telecom and cable operators can expect to see triple-play subscription revenues reach $144 billion over the next five years, and to increase by $80 billion this year alone. As more and more customers opt to meet their telephone, cable, and Internet needs with a single provider, broadband providers will find a wider, more lucrative market for their package deals, and will continue to invest in network infrastructure in order to upgrade subscribers to bundles.

As households move away from using the television as their core source of entertainment and connected TVs, tablets, gaming consoles, and smartphones grab a greater hold on the entertainment and broadband markets, triple-play earnings will keep pace. In fact, triple-play revenues are expected to command 70 percent of total subscription revenues by 2018, up from 52 percent in 2012.

Standalone TV revenues began falling in 2009, overtaken by triple-play options. Customers who once were satisfied with a simple, cable television subscription will continue to demand more connectivity at a competitive price, driving up triple-play revenues as they defect to bundles and special packages offered by their telecom or cable operator. Digital TV Research predicts that triple-play households will overtake the standalone TV total by 2016, as more subscribers convert to bundled services.

Triple-play continues to thrive worldwide, and Digital TV predicts that subscription numbers in the 97 countries covered by their research will reach 333 million by 2018, a 239 million rise over 2012 subscriber numbers. China will account for more than 34 percent of the global total of triple-play subscribers. Worldwide, about 21 percent of the television households will subscribe to triple-play services by 2018.