Pace now world's number two pay TV set-top box supplier

Screen Digest figures confirm Pace’s success in 2009; innovation, engineering expertise and delivery excellence fuel strong growth

Figures compiled by industry analysts, Screen Digest, reveal today that Pace plc (LSE:PIC), the leading developer of digital TV technologies for the payTV industry, is now the world’s number two set-top box supplier to payTV customers (up from number three in 2008). Pace, due to announce its preliminary results for the 2009 financial year on 2nd March 2010, has delivered strong growth over the last three years and has developed a leadership position in creating advanced set-top box technology – particularly HD, PVR and hybrid devices – for over 100 of the world’s payTV operators.

Pace is recognised as the clear leader in Western Europe, its home market, and has leveraged its technological capability and strong industry partnerships to deliver a quality product, capturing major market share in territories across the globe.

Neil Gaydon, Chief Executive Officer, Pace, commented: “We’ve experienced record growth in 2009, and we’re delighted to be recognised as the world’s number two set-top box company. What’s more important to us, however, is to be the best. No other manufacturer has the same breadth of product, engineering expertise and customer base as Pace. We intend to build upon our leadership position in 2010 and beyond by developing ever more innovative products, deepening our existing customer relationships and pursuing opportunities in current and new territories.”

Industry analyst, Tom Morrod, who runs Screen Digest’s TV Technology department, said: “Growth across the overall set-top box market for payTV has been driven by two factors: higher volume in emerging markets; and a tendency toward more complex products. Positioning with key operators in growth regions and a strong portfolio of HD and PVR devices are both key to success in the future market. In a large part we see traditional vendors leveraging this kind of expertise to reduce the fragmentation of the set-top box industry and expand market share.”

Pace, in addition to its leadership in HD and PVR, has established itself at the forefront of hybrid technology and is already shipping hybrid devices, which combine broadcast and broadband, to payTV customers. Pace’s hybrid devices include the Le Cube box for French operator, CANAL+ – Europe’s first satellite / IP hybrid set-top box to use the Ethernet port for video-on-demand (VOD) services – and a hybrid HD PVR for Viasat in Scandinavia and the Baltics. Pace’s other product firsts include:

• The first ever H.264 DVB-S2 high definition set-top box.
• Europe’s first payTV PVR
• The first integration of DOCSIS into a digital cable set-top box
• The world’s first DVB MPEG-2 set-top box
• The world’s first cable DVB PVR
• The world’s first Home Content Sharing solution based on a NAS (Network Attached Storage) device, using MoCA 1.1 to distribute content around the home to thin client set-top boxes

More: Pace now world’s number 2 in set-top boxes (FT)