Date: 13/10/2010

ABI estimates digital STB market to reach 226 million shipments in 2015

In the latest study on the set top box market named "Set Top Box Market Data" by ABI Research, it is estimated that the worldwide market for digital set-top boxes, including hard-to-track free-to-air (FTA) satellite (DBS) boxes, will grow from 205 million in 2010 to 226 million in 2015. The digital STBs market in Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Eastern Europe will experience growth even as shipments in North America and Western Europe fall. Set-top boxes in China will grow at nearly 10% per year (CAGR).

"Cable boxes decline in the short term due to cable's failure to compete in the North American markets; however they grow in the long term due to significant numbers of new subscribers in China and, to a lesser extent, India," says ABI Research senior analyst Sam Rosen. "Digital terrestrial (DTT) boxes see the largest platform growth worldwide as countries in Asia-Pacific and Latin America move through their digital transitions and toward analog shutoff (ASO) of broadcasts."

DTT box shipments will grow at 8.4% CAGR from 2010 to 2015. "Standard Definition DVRs will become a thing of the past in North America and Western Europe, although they will continue to play a minor role in Asia and Eastern Europe."