Digital TV service will reach about 165 million households in the United States and Western Europe by 2012, according to a new report from market analyst Datamonitor.
The report also finds access to broadcast video from a growing number of sources, including over-the-air, cable, satellite, IPTV, online video aggregators and mobile broadcast TV, will result in massive competition.
The report, “European and US digital TV, 2006-2012,” says innovation through digital service provision will be a crucial factor for survival. The likes of Apple TV, Joost and YouTube are shifting the competitive dynamics of the sector.
According to Datamonitor estimates, about 105 million households subscribe to satellite, cable and IPTV services in the United States and Western Europe. By 2012, there will be about 77.7 million satellite households in both regions, Datamonitor forecasts.
Digital cable is expected to show significant growth particularly as analog cable is switched to digital services. By 2012 there will be an estimated 69 million digital cable households, an average annual increase of 8.4 percent from 2006. One of the most recent entrants into the pay-TV arena, IPTV, is expected to show the largest growth. By 2012, IPTV will be present in an estimated 19.3 million households — a compound annual growth rate of 41.8 percent from 2006.
The report also finds that Germany, the Netherlands and the United States have seen significant private investment in the national cable and broadcasting sector. Private ownership brings with it strong incentive to boost return on investment through greater operational efficiencies and strong competitive advantage. In many cases, this involves driving revenue growth by creating additional synergies and value-add services such as triple play offerings.
Once private investment moves in, there is also strong interest in reducing operating margins by boosting internal efficiencies. These efficiencies will be found through overlapping infrastructure and value chain costs. Tackling these issues will enable a reduction of operational expenditure through system simplification and infrastructure rationalization. As consolidation continues to occur in the sector, there will be significant opportunities for IT systems integrators to gain advantage from continuous strategy alignments.
For more information, visit: www.datamonitor.com.
