These days, all the talk relating to television seemingly centers on cord cutting, the rise of over-the-top (OTT) content providers and TV Everywhere. How’s this for something completely different: New research indicates that the number of people paying for television is increasing.

The research, which was conducted by informitv and focused on the digital subscribers of 100 leading television providers around the world, showed a net increase in overall subscribers across the board. Developing regions are witnessing the greatest growth, but even the United States market showed both annual and quarterly gains.

“Pay-TV providers are launching multiscreen offerings to head off competition from new online subscription video services,” explains Dr. William Cooper of informitv. “Our research reveals that there is an increasing trend toward delivering services to multiple screens, from smartphones to smart televisions. Contrary to popular opinion, that television subscriptions are in decline, the informitv Multiscreen Index presents a bigger picture that shows that total number of pay-TV subscriptions is increasing, particularly in developing markets.”

According to the research, the 100 providers collectively realized a net gain of 19 million subscribers, an increase of 6.3 percent over the previous year. In the United States, the world’s largest market, subscribers have been fleeing cable providers and joining satellite and telco providers, an overall trend indicating that the demand for digital television services is increasing. According to the research, the top six pay-TV providers in America gained 9.44 million customers together over the past seven years.

The Asia Pacific region (APAC) witnessed the most significant growth, according to the research, gaining 1.63 million new customers over the last quarter. That figure doesn’t include new subscribers in either India or China.

Considerable growth is also occurring in Latin America, Russia and Eastern Europe, the research concludes.