Increase In Digital TV Growth Predicted For Asia

Although Asia currently lags behind Europe and North America on the digital TV track, by 2010, it will have more DTV households than any other region. China is estimated to generate much of that growth, with Informa Media forecasting by 2010 it to be second only to the US in total DTV households.

The expansion in Asia will be a boon to the many digital TV vendors in the region.

Rudy Teng, managing director of In-Stat’s Asia Pacific Research said: “Japan has been leading the way in the TV market for a long time, creating international brands such as Sony, Sharp, Panasonic, Sanyo, Toshiba, and Hitachi.”

Teng continued: “However, with the recent active promotion of the high-end brands LG and Samsung from South Korea, and brands like TCL Chang Hong, Konda and Skyworth from China occupying the middle and lower range market, together with new entrants BenQ, Teco and Sampa from Taiwan, the digital TV market is flourishing in several Asian counties.”

Digital television penetration in the Asia Pacific region is forecast to reach 606 million TV households by 2010, an increase of 130 million since 1995, according to a new report from Informa Telecoms & Media (see Strong Digital TV Penetration Forecast For Asia Pacific).

“Asia Pacific Television – Ninth Edition” predicts that out of the total for 2010, 46% of consumers will subscribe to cable, 3% to digital DHT packages, 2% to broadband television services, while 3% will receive DTT signals.

Just under half of television households in the region, 47%, will only be able to receive analogue terrestrial signals, leaving plenty of scope for subscription and digital systems to grow by 2010, according to Informa

Global digital television penetration is predicted to reach 144 million homes by the end of 2005, with this figure set to more than double by the end of the decade, to 370 million, according to MediaTelINSIGHT’s latest Digital TV Report (see Global Digital TV To Reach 144 Million Homes By End Of 2005).