Western Europe will account for 46% of worldwide IPTV set-top box revenues in 2013, according to US research firm In-Stat.
According to the company, research identifies the IPTV set top box market segment as one that is growing and is forecasting that unit shipments will surpass 21 million in 2011. The total IPTV set top box market will grow 14% in 2011.
As a whole, the set top box market can be categorised as a mature one. That is to say, it has reached a state of equilibrium or at least the absence of significant growth. That’s not to say, however, that there aren’t segments of the business that are innovating and growing at fairly significant rates.
“The recent up-take in IPTV set top boxes is a result of telcos gaining subscribers from cable and satellite providers, as well as replacing the boxes of current subscribers,” said Michelle Abraham, research director. At In-Stat.
“Future increases for IPTV set top box shipments will likely be driven by service providers moving to a server/client architecture where there is a media gateway/server located in the media room of the house that shares its content with client boxes that are distributed throughout the rest of the home. These client boxes will be IP STBs. DirectTV is one of the first providers to offer this service, but In-Stat expects that others will follow over the next few years.”
Recent In-Stat research also found that Motorola remained the market share leader in 2010 with 21% of the market and that North American IPTV STB unit shipments will increase 48% in 2012.