Worldwide sales of digital TV set-top boxes broke through the 100 million barrier for the first time in 2007, according to the latest research from the Strategy Analytics Connected Home Devices service.
The report,
Digital TV Set-Top Boxes: Global Market Forecast, found that sales reached 102.4 million units last year, an annual increase of 12%. IPTV’s market share rose to almost 6%, compared to 3.6% in 2006, and cable’s share also rose, to 36.2%.
For 2008 the report predicts a surge in demand for digital terrestrial set-top boxes, driven by the impending switch-off of analogue broadcasting in the US. By 2012, annual global sales of all digital TV set-top boxes will reach nearly 200 million units.
“We expect the Asia-Pacific region to overtake North America and Europe in 2008, accounting for a third of this year’s 129 million sales,” says Peter King, director, Connected Home Devices, Strategy Analytics. “Sales of digital terrestrial TV boxes in Europe have now plateaued, as consumers begin to transition to integrated digital TV sets, but this pattern is unlikely to prevent overall market growth across all platforms.”
“The set-top box remains the key gateway to advanced digital television services around the world,” added David Mercer, Strategy Analytics’ principal analyst. “Added value services such as high definition TV, digital video recording and internet video are all set to drive further growth in this strategically important sector.”
Last week, Digital UK, the body in charge of the digital television switchover in the UK, announced it was putting almost £3 million into a scheme to support viewers not covered by the existing targeted help scheme.
The town of Whitehaven in Cumbria has already begun the switchover process in the UK last October, with the rest of the UK following until the process is complete by 2012.
A recent report from Attentional claimed that the rapid conversion of older viewers to digital TV platforms will be one of the factors helping to offer a bright future for UK television over the next five years (see Bright Future For UK TV).
It added that the digital conversion of younger viewers who have so far resisted taking up multichannel technologies will also playing a significant role.
Meanwhile, IMS Research predicts that worldwide digital set-top shipments will increase at an average rate of 11% per annum over the next five years, reaching a forecast of 230 million shipments in 2012 (see Global Digital TV Market Set To Grow).
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