Skip to main content

China Applies its Policy to Promote Digital TV

The deployment of 'Whole System Shift', a government effort to speed up the conversion of urban households from analog to digital cable TV, is driving China's digital cable set-top box (STB) market, reports In-Stat.

As a result, unit shipments of digital cable STBs are projected to quadruple, from 3 million in 2005 to 12 million in 2010. "Most of the digital STB shipment increases will come from basic set-top boxes," says Rebecca Tan, In-Stat analyst.

"Most cable operators that are now installing Whole System Shift provide only basic services, and networks have not yet begun to install two-way networks. Operators' ability to provide interactive services is limited in the short-term, therefore, operators prefer basic boxes."

In-Stat's study found the following:

- Following several trials of Whole System Shift, the digital-cable TV subscriber base jumped dramatically from 800,000 to 2.7 million by the end of 2005.

- There will be steady growth in advanced-box shipments, reaching 1.5 million by 2010.

- Total revenue of cable STBs in China is projected to reach $586 million by 2010.

Popular posts from this blog

The Smartphone Market's Premium Pivot

The global smartphone market closed 2025 with a story less about recovery and more about transformation. Premium product, ecosystem lock-in, and manufacturing scale are now the forces shaping competition. For business and technology leaders, the latest IDC market study data confirms that smartphones remain a critical indicator of consumer demand, supply chain health, and AI commercialization at the edge. Smartphone Market Development Global smartphone shipments grew 2.3 percent year-over-year in Q4 2025, reaching 336.3 million units and bringing full-year volumes to 1.26 billion units — a modest 1.9 percent annual increase, according to IDC. This smartphone growth emerged despite a memory shortage crisis, tariff volatility, supply chain disruption, and macroeconomic headwinds. What stabilized demand? Two factors: sustained growth in premium devices and strong foldable momentum, combined with accelerated purchases as consumers bought ahead of anticipated price increases. Buyers weren...