CAMBRIDGE, MASS.—Currently, about 1 percent of overall channels are UHD, according to NSR’s “UltraHD via Satellite, Third Edition” report, however the report also indicates that 2016 could be a key year in changing that. NSR cites 2016 as the key inflection point for the rollout of UHD via satellite and predicts that by 2025 there will be more than 785 UHD channels; annual leasing revenues for satellite’s to have the required bandwidth capacity to run UHD channels are predicted to be an additional $280 million.
Some of the indicators identified in the report to support his growth include the expected increase of regions carrying UHD channels. East Asia has carried commercial UHD channels for more than a year, per the report, but by next year almost all regions across the world are expected to have UHD channels; developing regions are expected to receive content by the end of the decade. The falling price of 4K TV sets is also increasing the interest in the format, creating a higher demand for content.
“Given the exponential increases we’ve seen on 4K TV shipments, introducing UltraHD channels and packages is a key strategy to retain and grow pay TV subscriber bases in an increasingly competitive environment,” said Alan Crisp, NSR analyst and author of the report. “While in the short term DTH, cable TV and IPTV platforms will offer UHD for ‘free’ with existing premium channel bundles, longer term UHD will achieve higher revenue streams generated by increasing ARPUs and subscriber levels.”
NSR is an international market research and consulting firm with a core focus on the satellite sector and other related industries. Click to see the full “UltraHD via Satellite, Third Edition.”
