HD Gives Digital Pay TV a Boost

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The Direct-to-Home (DTH) pay-TV market is expected to continue growing at about 7.6% annually in subscribers from 2006 to 2011, and new services such as high-definition TV will help increase revenue, reports In-Stat. Rapid growth in the subscriber base will occur in certain less mature markets like Africa and India, where new DTH providers have or will begin service, the high-tech market research firm says.

“In more mature markets, growth rates, while slower, remain positive–being spurred forward by bundled and premium services such as HD,” says Michael Inouye, In-Stat analyst. “HD is rapidly becoming a key differentiator in the US, and some Western European countries like the UK have exhibited strong growth potential for high definition, e.g., 273% growth in HD subscribers from 3Q06 to 3Q07 for BSkyB in the UK.”

Recent research by In-Stat found the following:

• There will be 129 million DTH pay-TV subscribers worldwide by 2011.
• Revenues will eclipse $96 billion by 2011.
• As IPTV/telco TV expands and takes a competitive position as a third or fourth pay-TV category, the markets will further fractionate, creating added pressures to differentiate.

Recent In-Stat research, Worldwide Digital Satellite Pay-TV Market (#IN0703441MBS), covers the global market for digital satellite pay TV. It provides forecasts for subscribers, average revenue per subscriber, and subscription revenue by region through 2011. It also examines regional trends, with analysis of specific key markets.