Facing Competition, Operators Take More Set-Top Box Risks

NEW YORK — Faced with stiff competition in the cable market and from telcos vying for TV viewers, traditionally risk-averse cable operators are becoming increasingly “bipolar,” supporting a roadmap that may require the deployment of new STBs with more advanced features and functions, while also apparently aiming to drive the ubiquitous STB to extinction.

Meanwhile, STB vendors are offering a variety of new features to entice operators. When it comes to STBs, operators have traditionally tread carefully, and have largely been unwilling to “shop around” much for new technologies.

According to ABI Research analyst Paulhwa Lee, “Because some operators are facing stiffer competition, they are now willing to experiment a little more, venturing into offerings such as Electronic Program Guides, wireless support, home networking support for MOCA or HomePlug, and expanded hard drives – all at increasingly affordable prices.”

There is also a growing trend toward partnerships and consolidation. For example, STB giant Motorola has acquired a Chinese STB vendor, Dahua Digital; decoder manufacturer Broadcom has partnered with Chinese STB vendor Coship; and decoder manufacturer NXP has acquired Conexant’s STB operations.

Some operators, too, are partnering with new STB manufacturers. This is because as the United States market matures, subscriber growth slows and evolves towards STB replacement. STB sales may still be driven by one-off developments such as the CableCARD mandate, the digital to analog transition, and the unification of data and video. But operators know that these transitions are CAPEX-intensive. At every opportunity, operators are trying to standardize and commoditize STBs by formulating standards and consortia such as tru2way and CableLabs, so many STB manufacturers are looking to fresh markets in Asia, Europe, and Latin America.

ABI Research has released newly updated Set-top Box Market Forecasts. The information covers STBs of all kinds, including those for IPTV, satellite, cable, and digital terrestrial TV. For each, the product forecasts, shipments, average selling price, market value through 2013. It also contains data on CATV and IP gateways, decoders, and subscribers.

It forms part of the firm’s Multi-Channel Video Research Service, which also includes Research Reports, Research Briefs, other Market Data products, Online Databases, ABI Insights ABI Vendor Matrices, and analyst inquiry support.