Digital Penetration Of TV Households To Reach 16%
Nearly 40 million digital households will be added in 2006, bringing the global total to 183 million, according to a new report from Informa Telecoms & Media.
According to the Global Digital TV – 6th Edition report, the North American penetration rate will exceed 60%, with western Europe at 40%. A further 46 million digital homes will be added to the total in 2007.
Informa says that over 344 million digital homes will be added to the total between end-2005 and end-2011, with China being a major contributor to this increase by accounting for 98 million of the extra homes, or 28% of the global increase in these years.
Other significant rises will come in the US (52 million more), Japan (35 million) and India (19 million).
A recent report from Strategy Analytics said that demand for digital television in Europe will reach a record high in 2006 (see Ofcom Plans New Public Service Channel To Rival BBC).
| Digital TV household composition in 2011 (million) | |||||
| DTT | Cable | DTH | IPTV | Total TV@ | |
| Asia Pacific | 19 | 139 | 28 | 17 | 615 |
| Europe – East | 5 | 11 | 5 | 1 | 203 |
| Europe – West | 35 | 37 | 33 | 12 | 155 |
| Latin America | 2 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 108 |
| Middle East* | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 19 |
| North America | 4 | 77 | 37 | 4 | 127 |
| Total | 70 | 274 | 109 | 35 | 1,226 |
Source: Informa Telecoms & Media @includes digital and analogue homes *Israel and Turkey only
Cable will be the largest source of digital TV households, bringing in 274 million homes by 2011. DTH will be the next most popular delivery system at 109 million.
Informa adds that there will be 70 million DTT homes (who do not subscribe to cable, satellite or IPTV services) and 35 million households receiving IPTV signals. However, 738 million homes will still take analogue signals, so digital growth is likely to extend beyond 2011.
By 2011, 60% of TV households will still receive analogue signals, which leaves lots of room for further digital growth. Meanwhile, more than a fifth of homes will take digital cable, with high penetration in North America boosting this figure.
DTH remains the most popular platform, although digital cable will overtake DTH during 2007. Informa says that DTT and IPTV have hardly begun to make inroads in many territories.
| Digital TV homes (million) | ||||
| 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2011 | |
| Asia Pacific | 21 | 33 | 53 | 202 |
| Europe – East | 4 | 5 | 7 | 22 |
| Europe – West | 49 | 61 | 72 | 116 |
| Latin America | 5 | 6 | 8 | 17 |
| Middle East* | 2 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| North America | 64 | 75 | 86 | 122 |
| Total | 145 | 183 | 229 | 489 |
Source: Informa Telecoms & Media *Israel and Turkey only
North America is expected to account for 41% of the world’s digital TV households by end-2006, down four percentage points on the previous year.
However, this proportion will be as low as 25% by 2011, with Europe accounting for 30%. Asia will become the dominant continent by 2011, accounting for 41% of the total in 2011, up from 14% in 2005.
The US is forecast to have 69 million digital households (38% of the world’s total) by end-2006. The US will add 42 million more digital homes between end-2006 and end-2011, keeping it at top slot by taking 23% of the global total.
China will be in second place by 2011, having gained 96 million digital homes between 2006 and 2011. The top five countries will account for 61% of the global total in 2011, down from 69% in 2005.
Independent market analyst Datamonitor released figures in late August which showed that the UK is currently the only country in Europe with over 50% of households having digital television services (see UK Only Country In Europe With Over 50% DTV Services).
Adam Thomas, Informa’s media research manager, said: “By 2011, 40% of the world’s TV homes will receive digital signals, or nearly 500 million households. This indicates that digital growth will accelerate as the decade progresses, especially outside North America and western Europe.”