Seasonally Weak Satellite Set-top Box Sales Cause Market to Fall in First Quarter

Monday, June 23rd, 2008
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High-definition Accounted for More Than Half of the Units Shipped

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — Dell’Oro Group, the trusted source for market information about the networking and telecommunications industries, reported today that the worldwide set-top box market contracted 6 percent sequentially to $3.5 billion in the first quarter of this year. The market was up 9 percent, however, compared to the year-ago quarter. The quarter’s sequential decline was due to double-digit percent drop in the satellite STB market, which reflected seasonal weakness.

“The market for pay-TV services continues to see strong growth and competition, and these factors will continue to translate into healthy STB sales which are boosted by increasing volumes and average selling prices,” commented Greg Collins, Vice President at Dell’Oro Group. “Prices continue to rise as high definition (HD) and digital video recorder (DVR) functionality becomes a higher percentage of the overall product mix. In 1Q08, HD shipments for the first time surpassed standard definition shipments as consumers are increasingly choosing HD services and service providers are deploying HD capable set-tops ahead of demand,” Collins added.

Echostar, which was recently spun off from Dish Network (Nasdaq:DISH), edged out Thomson (Euronext 18453; NYSE:TMS) in the first quarter for the top position in terms of unit shipments. Seasonality also impacted the results of the combined Pace (LSE:PIC) and Philips, according to the report.

About the Report

The Dell’Oro Group Set-top Box Quarterly Report offers complete, in-depth coverage of the market with worldwide and regional tables covering manufacturers’ revenue, units shipped, and average selling prices for cable, satellite, IP set-top boxes and standalone digital video recorders (DVRs). The report tracks performance of key vendors, including Advanced Digital Broadcast (ADB), Amino, Cisco Systems, Echostar, Humax, Motorola, Pace plc, Philips, Samsung, and Thomson (among others).