As the market for basic video services becomes ever more competitive, cable TV operators around the world are now relying on cable modem services to generate new revenue streams, according to the latest study by In-Stat.
In fact, bundling video and data services is providing cable operators with a significant competitive advantage over their pay-TV service rivals, the high-tech market research firm says.
"Some markets, such as North America, are feeling the effects of increasing competition for video service subscribers," says Mike Paxton, In-Stat analyst. "However, in other markets, demand for cable video services is growing at an almost exponential rate. China is a good example. In 2007, it added over 20 million cable TV subscriber households."
The research covers worldwide markets for cable modem and cable TV video services. It discusses technology standards and market dynamics for cable modem services around the world, provides regional and country-by-country subscriber data for cable modem services, and forecasts subscriber growth through 2011.
The research also profiles industry growth by providing regional and country-by-country subscriber data for cable TV service, with a special emphasis on digital service. It forecasts both worldwide cable TV subscribers and worldwide digital cable TV subscribers by geographic region through 2011.
In-Stat's market study found the following:
- As of December 2007, total worldwide cable TV subscriber households numbered 408 million, an increase of 10 percent from December 2006.
- Worldwide cable modem subscribers recently hit 72 million.
- Ninety-one million cable TV households are now digital video subscribers, an increase of 41 percent over the previous year. The majority of these new subscribers came from China.
