DEMAND FOR CABLE set top boxes in North America dropped this year, due to a combination of the shrinking number of cable TV subscriber households combined with cable TV operators tightening their capital expenditure budgets. But according to a report from NPD In-Stat, demand from Asia will help to offset this trend.
The Cable Set Top Box Market: Growth Opportunities Shift to Asia reports that global digital set top box unit shipments are on track to exceed 55 million this year, down just 1% from 2010 unit shipments.
“In-Stat believes that the long-term outlook for the cable set top box market is positive,” said research director Mike Paxton, in the report’s news release. “Although we are projecting global unit shipments to decrease slightly in 2012 and 2013, the on-going shift from analog cable services to digital cable services in the developing world will boost demand again in 2014.”
Other highlights from the report include:
– Motorola Mobility continues to be the leading cable set top box manufacturer, followed by Cisco Systems;
– Demand for high-definition cable set top boxes continues to be strong. In 2011, almost 11 million HD cable set top boxes shipped worldwide;
– The total available market for semiconductor components in digital cable set top boxes is forecast to be $2.9 billion in 2011; and
– Total digital cable set top box product revenues are projected to reach $6.5 billion in 2011.
