Skip to main content

Satellite Pay-TV Set Top Box Shipments Decline

Satellite pay-TV providers in North America haven't added many new subscribers. Competition for subscribers has been an issue, and the fundamental value of all pay-TV services is being questioned by prospective customers.

In particular, the U.S. market for video entertainment has also evolved -- due to the rapidly growing adoption of low-cost on-demand over-the-top (OTT) video services.

In Europe, the market has less need for set-top boxes, because more TV sets have integrated satellite tuners and CI+ slots. As a result, according to the latest market study by In-Stat, shipments of satellite set-top boxes declined in 2010 by 8 percent -- in both the North American and Western European.

"The decline in North America shipments moving forward will be a result of a movement to residential media servers, first by DirecTV, and then by other providers," says Michelle Abraham, Principal Analyst at In-Stat.

The move to IP video clients will impact Europe as well, though multi-room penetration is much lower, so the impact on shipments will be lower.

Markets like Latin America and the Mid-East/Africa regions will see the highest growth percentages as rising household incomes and lower cost pay-TV packages will enable more satellite pay-TV subscriber growth in those markets.

In-Stat's latest market study findings include:

- Saturation in some satellite markets will result in a stall in satellite set-top box unit shipments for the pay-TV market.

- The switch from connecting a satellite set-top box to every TV for satellite viewing to using IP clients will impact the satellite box market.

- HD and DVR boxes continue to gain at the expense of SD boxes.

- Both Colombia and Argentina plan to launch satellite services to complete their DTT coverage.

- The worldwide satellite HD box forecast shows growth each year through 2014 with the exception of 2011 as a result of DirecTV's use of IP set-top boxes.

Popular posts from this blog

Growing Venture Capital in APAC AI Market

Technology is a compelling catalyst for economic growth across the globe.  Artificial intelligence (AI) rides a seismic wave of transformation in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region — a market bolstered by bold government initiatives, swelling pools of capital, and vibrant tech ambition. The latest IDC analysis sheds light on this dynamic market. Despite a contraction in deal volumes through 2024, total AI venture funding surged to an impressive $15.4 billion — a signal of the region’s resilience and the maturation of its digital-native businesses (DNBs). Asia-Pacific AI Market Development The APAC AI sector’s funding story is not just about headline numbers but also about how and where investments are shifting. Even as the number of deals slowed, the aggregate value of investments climbed, reflecting a preference among investors for fewer but larger, high-potential bets on mature or highly scalable AI enterprises. The information technology sector led the AI investment charge. Top area...