The Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) market has had a difficult year and high profile closures and cutbacks have prompted research bodies to reassess the prospects for set-top box producers.
A report,
Can You See Me Now? Digital Terrestrial TV On The Edge Of Its Seat – Updated DTT Set Top Box Forecast, from
Instat/MDR claims that the worldwide market, which was once expected to generate $2.4 billion in revenue in 2005, will be worth barely $1.4 billion in 2006.
The collapse of pay-TV businesses in the UK and Spain, the reluctance of operators to roll out new services and the unstable global economy are all cited as reasons for the slow pace of growth in set-top box sales.
The findings of the report will come as a disappointment to everyone with a vested interest in the future of digital television. Governments in developed countries are keen to switch off analogue TV signals and manufacturers and set-top box designers are hoping to introduce a new wave of products to a forward thinking population.
“DTT broadcasting is the next generation of over-the-airwaves television signal that is expected to replace today’s analogue terrestrial television service,” said Gerry Kaufhold, a Principal Analyst with In-Stat/MDR. However, he maintains that shipments of digital cable and digital satellite boxes will outnumber those of DTT set set-top boxes until at least 2006
Attention is currently focused on the UK where the BBC and BSkyB have launched Freeview, the world’s first totally free DTT service. However, industry observers are sceptical as to whether it will prove sufficiently popular to drive digital uptake (see Freeview Could Face An Uphill Struggle) and a recent study from Forrester Research poured scorn on Government plans to turn off the analogue signal this decade (see Governments Should Bow To Consumer Demand On DTT, Says Report).
InStat/MDR praises the efforts of manufacturers in developing the technology to support innovations such as Personal Video Recorders and interactive e-commerce but puts the onus on operators to offer a quality product that will entice the viewing public.
“Television networks need to figure out how to migrate their programming and services onto new, digital, platforms, or consumers will just keep their old, analogue TV and thwart the DTT revolution,” said Kaufhold.
