HDTV will help drive STB sales

According to a report by Digital Tech Consulting (DTC), STB sales will be driven by new technologies such as HDTV and the growth of digital TV subscription services in developing economies.

With global preparations underway for the switchover from analogue to digital TV, demand for set top boxes is booming. Europe, Africa and the Middle East will switch from analogue to digital TV by 2015, while in the United States, this will happen as early as February 2009.

However DTC believes that there will be wide regional variations in demand according to the availability of digital platforms, services and technologies.

Some major pay TV markets, including China and India, are in the early stages of moving to digital technology and should provide strong growth over the next ten years.

In more mature markets, such as the US and Europe, new technologies and services such as HDTV and PVR are becoming increasingly important. Bundled services are helping to drive growth in subscriber numbers and demand for system upgrades.

According to DTC, North America’s market share is likely to fall from 43% of STB units shipped in 2006, to 34% by 2012. However Asia-Pacific will experience strong growth, with STB shipments rising from 26% of the market in 2006 to 36% by 2012. EMEA is expected to retain its hold on around 30% of the market.