By the end of the year 40% of European homes will have digital TV, according to the new Western European TV report from Informa Telecoms and Media.
The report forecasts that the region will pass 100 million digital homes during 2010 and reach 116 million by the end of 2011, equivalent to a 75% penetration rate.
Informa says that by the end of 2006, the UK will account for 32% of the regions digital TV homes, followed by Germany with 18% and France with 14%.
| Digital TV households (million) |
| |
2006 |
2011 |
| UK |
19.7 |
25.3 |
| Germany |
11.1 |
21.8 |
| France |
8.3 |
18.3 |
| Rest of region |
21.9 |
50.6 |
| Total |
61 |
116 |
Whilst the UK will remain the digital TV leader, its dominance will wane over the next five years, falling to 22% of the total by 2011, despite adding over five million digital subscribers to the figure for 2006.
A recent report from the independent market analyst Datamonitor said that the UK remains the only country in Europe with over 50% of households having digital television services and that by 2010, 95% of UK households will have made the transition to digital TV (see UK Only Country In Europe With Over 50% DTV Services).
Adam Thomas, Informa’s media researcher manager said: “Upgrades to digital are taking off and, as the market progresses, so the practical realities of concepts such as ‘convergence’ and ‘quadruple-play’ become clearer. We are seeing a groundswell of interest in comprehensive services that can offer traditional broadcast TV plus a range of other options. These include things like pay TV, video-on-demand, high-definition, DVRs, broadband and telephony, both fixed and mobile. TV companies and telcos are positioning themselves to meet this growing demand.”
Thomas added: “The signs of progress toward converged services are there for all to see. During 2005, 10.7 million TV households upgraded to digital in Western Europe. By the end of 2011, a further 67.5 million will make the same transition.”
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