Market for hybrid IPTV STBs set to grow

Western Europe and North America represented 68% of total worldwide IPTV STB shipments in 2008, according to IMS Research.

Rebecca Kurlak, research analyst and author of the study, stated, “A few of the prime markets for IP STBs will continue to be in the US, France, Italy, Spain, and China. The US alone will experience a 42% increase in subscriber uptake by the end of 2009, mainly driven by AT&T’s U-Verse service. US Tier 2 & Tier 3 telcos are expected to contribute almost 16% to total subscriber growth by the end of the year.”

Kurlak continued, “Not only will the market see uptake of IP STBs, but will see an increasing amount of hybrid IP+DTT STBs. France, Italy, and Spain are forecast to comprise 65% of Western Europe’s IP+DTT shipments by 2014. France Telecom, Telecom Italia, and Telefonica are using DTT to further complement their service offerings.”

Additionally she noted, “China continues to be the gold mine that every supplier wants to get their hands on. Both China Telecom and China Unicom are growing rapidly, with close to a 33% subscriber uptake by the end of 2009. In terms of IPTV households, we are expecting a CAGR growth of 25%.”