Digital Terrestrial TV STB Shipments Plummet in Q2

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Market research firm, In-Stat, reported that worldwide Digital Terrestrial TV (DTT) Set Top Box (STB) shipments fell by nearly 35% in Q2 compared to Q1. The shift was driven primarily by falling shipments in the North American market following the analog broadcast TV shut-off. Plummeting unit shipments in North America were partially offset by growth in the Asian DTT market, which actually grew 50% to over 1.2 million units.

The satellite set top box market increased unit shipments to 20.3 million units in Q2 2009, making it the largest set top box market among Cable, Satellite, IP and DTT set top boxes. While IPTV set top boxes saw a slight sequential drop in unit shipments from Q1 to Q2, growth in High-definition IPTV set top boxes was strong. The percentage of HD IPTV set top boxes increased by 9 percentage points compared to Q1 2009.

Overall, for the year 2009, In-Stat expects unit shipments across the set top box markets to be flat compared with 2008. Total revenue will decline by about 1% to just below $17 billion in 2009.

This research is part of In-Stat’s new “Set Top Box Database.” The Set Top Box Database tracks set top box (STB) unit shipments, revenues and average selling prices (ASPs) on a quarterly basis. Operator segmentation includes Cable, Satellite, Telco IPTV, and Digital Terrestrial TV. Regional segmentation includes North America, Europe, Middle East/Africa, Latin America, Asia.