Digital Lifescapes

The digital TV and video entertainment market will expand via online and mobile delivery of new media. This new growth will be driven by network operator owned services, such as Internet Protocol Television (IPTV), or through Over The Top (OTT) video streaming services such as Amazon Prime, Netflix and Hulu among others. Meanwhile, traditional pay-TV operators and terrestrial over-the-air TV broadcasters will continue to be disrupted by new digital technologies and new business models. Furthermore, the impact of the ongoing video entertainment transformation could also create new challenges for the Cinema theater sector. According to the latest market study by Juniper Research, ultra high-definition television (UHDTV) streaming video services -- i.e. 4K OTT -- content will start to reach the mainstream market soon, with adoption set to soar over the next 5 years. How Connected TV Fueled the Disruption Note, 4K is a term that was originally used to describe the cinema projection...

Traditional Pay-TV service providers in saturated markets, such as North America, could use a new value-add competitive edge to counter the ongoing subscriber losses from low-cost OTT video entertainment growth. Television sets with 4K video capabilities also present a growth opportunity for pay-TV equipment vendors. ABI Research forecasts the 4K set-top box market will quadruple in size from less than two million units in 2015 to more than 7 million in 2016, and then grow by 46 percent annually through 2021. However, the overall pay-TV set-top box market is on the decline, expected to drop by about nine percent in 2016 to less than $16 billion in revenue -- with both pay-TV and free-to-air boxes losing value. Pay-TV Market Development Challenges “Digital transitions are taking longer than initially planned and the market is experiencing significant downward pressure on set-top box pricing,” said Sam Rosen, vice president at ABI Research . According to the ABI assessment, har...

Infonetics Research released excerpts from its latest pay-TV subscribers market study and forecast -- which tracks IPTV, cable, satellite, hybrid set-top boxes (STBs) and over-the-top (OTT) media servers. "Contrary to popular opinion, the set-top box market is alive and well," says Julien Blin, directing analyst for consumer electronics and mobile broadband at Infonetics Research. STB revenue grew almost 10 percent in 2012, and that's a considerable rebound from a year ago. The global market will remain healthy in the near term as operators in China, India, and Latin America add new digital video entertainment services. Video gateways and media players will be the real standouts moving forward, as North American and European cable and satellite providers transition away from digital STBs. Infonetics says that they expect video gateways to grow from just 1 percent of total cable and satellite STB shipments in 2012 to 16 percent by 2017. They also expect to see s...

The American pay-TV sector continues to underestimate the lasting impact of alternative video entertainment options that are priced significantly lower than the primary service providers. According to the latest market study by ABI Research, nearly 20 percent of online consumers consider the growing availability of streaming video -- via the public internet -- as a viable replacement for legacy pay-TV services. ABI believes that their latest findings represent a significant risk to the traditional TV operator business of as much as $16.8 billion in the U.S. market. With the U.S. pay-TV household penetration set to decline by approximately 0.5 percent per year through 2017, ABI Research says that this slow migration will continue -- even with an economic recovery as people have additional entertainment choices, such as low-cost over-the-top (OTT) video experiences. To offset this, pay-TV service providers should proactively build a business that leverages OTT components. This wi...

Multimedia Research Group, Inc. (MRG) released its comprehensive study of the Multi-platform TV Middleware and Applications ecosystem. According to the findings of their latest market study, pay-TV has been on a collision course with the Internet for more than a decade, but not only has online delivery not yet cannibalized pay TV revenues to any great extent, it also has created a variety of new revenue opportunities for facilities-based service providers. "Generally speaking, consumers are growing to expect the same experience on the TV that they receive from the Internet, and vice versa," said Norm Bogen, MRG VP of Global Research. From the content provider’s perspective, this must be done securely, in ways that respect existing content acquisition and distribution agreements. Enter TV software and the technological advances required to enable new platforms. Key findings from this market study included: The 2010-2014 time-frame is a time of radical change, in w...

Infonetics Research released excerpts from the results of its latest market study, which captures pay-TV service provider requirements for hybrid IP-based set-top boxes (STBs) to deliver video entertainment services. "In a change from the 2011 edition of our IP set-top box survey, Cisco is now perceived as the overall top IP set-top box supplier by operators, while Motorola was top dog last year," notes Jeff Heynen, directing analyst for broadband access and video at Infonetics Research . This is consistent with the Infonetics set-top box market share reporting -- where Cisco has led in global IP STB revenue share for a total of four straight quarters. Cisco's efforts over the past year to expand its IP set-top box lineup and customer base, and the major contracts it has scored with AT&T, Deutsche Telekom, and Telus are paying off -- according to the Infonetics assessment. That being said, device design and user interface innovation has been slow to emerge in ...

Connected TV penetration in North America and Western Europe will surge from just over 10 percent in 2011 to over 50 percent by 2017, according to the latest market study by ABI Research. Blu-ray disc player penetration is expected to have a similar progression, increasing from about 25 percent in Western Europe and North America in 2011 to over 76 percent by 2017 (standalone and game consoles included). Meanwhile, game console penetration rates by 2017 are only expected to pass 61 percent in North America and 46 percent in Western Europe -- with adoption rates significantly lower in other regions. There are four major connected video CE devices: Connected TVs, Blu-ray players, game consoles and Smart set-top boxes (STBs). Most CE manufacturers (notably, Samsung and LG) use a common platform for Connected TVs and Blu-ray players. Microsoft and Nintendo play only in the game console market, while Smart STB leaders Apple and Roku don’t compete in the other connected categories. ...

Infonetics Research released excerpts from two recently published video equipment market share and forecast reports. These latest market studies demonstrate how video entertainment applications demand is impacting broadband service provider (SP) infrastructure investment decisions. That being said, most of the growth will come from online video streaming apps, not traditional pay-TV. The first report, Video-on-Demand (VOD) and Encoder Equipment and Video Subscribers -- which tracks video equipment sold to telco IPTV, cable video, and satellite video providers. And the second report, Set-Top Boxes and Subscribers -- which tracks IP, cable, satellite hybrid, DVR, and high definition (HD) STBs, as well as over-the-top (OTT) media servers. "Two of the most interesting trends in the video equipment and set-top box markets are 1) across the board, pay-TV operators continue to increase their investments in MPEG-4 encoders to reduce bandwidth requirements for their broadcast channels ...

Content originally produced for broadcast television has come to the Internet, and the Internet has transitioned to mobile devices. Now the Internet is coming back to TV, and savvy software engineers and smart TV producers are finding ways to create new hybrid services that bring it all together. This is the trend that has many analysts already wondering what will happen next -- how will pay-TV services evolve and which key players in the ecosystem already have a competitive edge? According to the latest market study by NPD In-Stat , they now forecast that 100 million households will actively use a hybrid video entertainment services -- delivered to their TV set -- by 2016. “The next step in the viewing experience will be for TV sets and set-top boxes to permit all of the traditional TV-related services, which is then expanded and enhanced by bringing in content from the Internet, or from Internet-like web services that provide a walled garden of authorized content and on-scree...

In 2011, the global market for household consumer electronics (CE) continued its rapid shift toward connected devices. These are devices that are enabled with digital communications and have the ability to connect directly to the Internet -- or to a home network. Some of these devices are optimized for the delivery of IP-based streaming video content. This device category is being driven primarily by the success and adoption of low-cost streaming media players, digital TVs, satellite STBs, video game consoles, and Blu-ray disc players or recorders. According to the latest market study by NPD In-Stat, they now forecast that the connected device installed base will grow from 256.8 million units in 2011 to 1.34 billion units in 2016. "CE is no longer about dumb devices that exist at the edge of the network to provide specific functions, but rather about intelligent devices at the edge of the network that can connect consumers to new stores of content and engage them in new di...

Here in the U.S. market, 2011 was a year that many in the traditional pay-TV service provider industry would rather forget. That being said, this year will include more of the same challenges, where the fundamental value proposition is being questioned by subscribers. There are some bright spots, however, where pay-TV providers can use new technology and additional capabilities to add value to their legacy offerings. Some may also create new lower-cost offerings. Hybrid set top boxes are a fast-growing segment of the worldwide set top box market. These boxes include a TV tuner and an Internet connection -- with the latter used to access a multitude of on-demand video content. Hybrid STBs are appearing in all pay-TV service categories with new usage scenarios and creative apps helping to provide some new service development momentum. As consumer connected TVs begin employing applications that deliver low-cost video content via the Internet, hybrid set top boxes will emerge as an...

While some video entertainment industry analysts and consumer electronics pundits are eager to predict a rapid decline of the traditional pay-TV set top box market, others are less sure about the near-term prospects. That being said, a few still see some upside market opportunity within the mainstream pay-TV category. The set top box market actually experienced pockets of growth in 2011, primarily due to robust demand for digital cable set top box products in Asia. In contrast, North American cable set top box unit shipments are decreasing, largely due to the declining number of cable TV subscriber households -- combined with cable TV operators tightening their capital expenditure budgets. According to the latest market study by NPD In-Stat, they report that global digital set top box unit shipments are on track to exceed 55 million, down just 1 percent from 2010 unit shipments. "In-Stat believes that the long-term outlook for the cable set top box market is positive,...

As the year comes to a close, 2011 will be remembered as a difficult time for many players in the video entertainment industry. The growth of online video viewing on-demand, and other significant market transitions, have taken a toll on the pay-TV marketplace. The worldwide satellite set-top box (STB) market has experienced slow to negative growth in recent years as both the number of subscribers and the conversion from SD to HD has changed the market dynamics. That trend is about to change. According to the latest market study by In-Stat , they are forecasting that digital satellite STB unit shipments will grow by nearly 14 percent in 2012. "New technology in many ways is powering the expected uptick in unit shipments," says Michelle Abraham, Research Director at In-Stat. Increasingly powerful processors enable a more personalized viewing experience with downloadable apps and recommendation engines. An improved graphics capability also enhances the user expe...

The global IPTV market will grow to $49 billion in service revenues and 113 million subscribers in 2015 -- as multiscreen video usage drives wireless services to new highs. According to the latest market study by MRG , systems revenue for the seven key IPTV products analyzed will grow to $4.8 billion in 2015, with set-top boxes (STB) representing about 60 percent. As consumers add Wi-Fi for using smart devices within their homes, market growth continues largely due to trends toward the mobile lifestyle habits of 18-55-year-olds. Based on semiannual updates of major global Operators and their differentiating services and updated subscriber counts, Europe remains ahead of Asia by 2015 in IPTV subscribers -- partially due to continued regulatory confusion in Asia. By 2015 worldwide, at least 25 IPTV Operators will have over 1 million subscribers, with 9 having over 3 million, the U.S. having 2 Operators with over 7.5 million each and Europe having 12 IPTV Operators wit...

Without a doubt, 2010 was a challenging year for the worldwide digital set-top box (STB) market, as total unit shipments decreased by 7 percent. It is likely that 2011 will also be a disappointing year, but there may be better news on the horizon. Fueled primarily by the analog-to-digital transition as well as upgrades of older devices to newer HDTV versions, HD and PVR versions, and Hybrid STBs with PVR capability and a broadband connection -- digital terrestrial STB unit shipments will approach 45 million units by 2015, according to the latest market study by In-Stat . "Digital set-top boxes continue to be key pieces of equipment for pay-TV service providers. For many service providers, the digital STB functions as their gateway into the home," says Mike Paxton, Research Director at In-Stat. In addition to their important position in the digital TV or pay-TV ecosystem, digital set-top boxes continue to offer an attractive market opportunity for STB manufacturers and s...

The volatile pay-TV industry is going through a period of transition, as low-cost video entertainment services gain new subscribers -- and thereby further fragment the global markets. As a result, traditional pay-TV service providers are evolving their offerings, which directly impacts their systems and CPE device suppliers. Infonetics Research released excerpts from its first quarter 2011 (1Q11) Cable, Satellite, IPTV, and Over-the-Top (OTT) Set-Top Boxes and subscribers market share and forecast report. "Despite a quarter-over-quarter decline in the global set-top box market, all major segments are up from this time a year ago in both revenue and shipments, indicating that the pay-TV market is rebounding after two years of significant declines," said Teresa Mastrangelo, directing analyst for video at Infonetics Research. In 1Q11, evidence continued to mount that pay-TV service providers are in the early stages of implementing hybrid IP networks that off...

Infonetics Research released its latest quarterly home networking devices market forecast -- which tracks, ranks, and analyzes vendors that make residential gateways, broadband routers, powerline adapters, coax-Ethernet adapters, and home network attached storage (NAS). Sales of home networking devices grew 11 percent in 2010, to $5.15 billion, on the heels of a 46 percent jump the previous year, with all segments of the market posting increases. "We're expecting a challenging year for residential gateways this year, as operators have a lot of inventory on hand. They're also having trouble adding new DSL and cable subscribers, said Jeff Heynen, directing analyst for broadband access at Infonetics Research . This overall trend will keep the market flat in 2011 -- despite strong sales of Homeplug Powerline adapters, MoCA coax-Ethernet adapters, and some home NAS devices. The Infonetics market study highlights include: - Quarter-over-quarter, the home network device...

Infonetics Research earlier this month released its fourth quarter 2010 (4Q10) Cable, Satellite, IPTV, and Over-the-Top (OTT) set-top box (STB) subscriber market share and forecast. In the fourth quarter of 2010, Infonetics witnessed the dramatic growth of over-the-top video entertainment services, as service providers and equipment vendors seemed to reach their optimal price-points. However, by and large, these services continue to complement traditional pay-TV rather than fully replace it. On a global basis, demand for set-top boxes continues to increase as more countries transition from analog to digital broadcast television and more operators offer enhanced services -- such as HDTV and DVR. "There is increasing demand for hybrid set-top boxes, which leverage the existing broadcast infrastructure, but utilize the broadband connection to incorporate OTT content and increase interactivity and on-demand services," notes Teresa Mastrangelo, directing analyst for video at...

During 2010, there was significant growth of new consumer electronics (CE) devices with networking and web content presentation capabilities. Network-enabled CE devices have the ability to connect directly to the Internet or to a home network. Web-enabled or Smart devices deliver IP-based video content for viewing either on the device itself or on a separate screen, such as a connected TV set. Both types of devices are expected to grow exponentially over the next five years. According to the latest market study by In-Stat , by 2015 there will be 1 billion web-enabled, stationary CE devices in operation worldwide. "Smart TVs and Blu-ray players (that support online apps) will constitute over 50 percent of all web-enabled CE device shipments worldwide in 2015," says Keith Nissen, Principal Analyst at In-Stat. North America and Europe will remain the primary regional markets for web-enabled, stationary CE devices. Over the next five years, both the North American and E...

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 m...