Here's the data. Interpret it yourself.
Average British IPTV panel: 5,200 channels. Average UK household weekly watch count: 14 unique channels. Usage rate: 0.27% of available content.
After resellers remove the bottom 50% of channels (by 90-day view count), the following metrics improve:
EPG load time: -34%
Channel change speed: -28%
Support tickets about "can't find channels": -52%
Customer-reported satisfaction: +41%
Average watch time per session: +22%
No other single change produces this magnitude of improvement across so many metrics.
In most cases, resellers resist channel reduction. "What if someone wants that channel?" The data answers: someone might. But not enough to justify the performance penalty for everyone.
What the data recommends: a quarterly channel purge. Remove anything with under 10 views in 90 days. Archive, don't delete. Restore on request.
One quantified scenario: a reseller in Southampton removed 2,800 channels from his IPTV Reseller Panel. He kept 1,200. His British IPTV customers asked about exactly 6 missing channels in the following three months. He restored 4. His overall metrics improved across every category.
The data is unambiguous: more channels = worse service. Less is more. The numbers don't care about your reluctance. They just state the facts.