After a couple of years of sluggish growth, a new study says the global set-top box market should expand nearly 200 percent, from 19.4 million units and revenues of $2.9 billion in 2009, to some 58 million units and projected revenues of $6.2 billion by 2014.
The report, from market research firm iSuppli, says the CAGR for sales of IPTV STBs is 25 percent, and forecasts a revenue CAGR of 16 percent. While neither forecast is exactly a hockey stick, iSuppli does expect the IPTV share of the market to double, from 14.7 percent to 29.1 percent, and that graphs just fine.
Segment growth is accelerating, iSuppli says, at nearly triple that of the satellite and cable industry. That category is expected to see a compound annual growth rate of a pedestrian 8.6 percent; it currently ships about 132 million STBs a year and is forecast to move 199 million units annually by 2014.
But, the company warns, innovation in the IPTV space is needed to differentiate the industry's offerings from those of satellite and cable operators.
iSupply says the 60-some manufacturers of IPTV STBs still are dominated by the 32 percent share Motorola enjoys and the 14 percent share claimed by Cisco . In all, about 15 companies make up 92 percent of the market. On the middleware side, Microsoft--and its Mediaroom middleware, which had a significant presence at the NAB show last week in Las Vegas--has about 25 percent of the market.
For more:
- see this isuppli report
Related articles:
iSuppli: STB shipments increasing
In-Stat also saw the STB market lifting
ABI last year liked the outlook for IP STBs