STB unit shipments decreased 3 percent in Q2 2014 from Q2 2013 and grew 7 percent sequentially, said Infonetics Research.
Globally, set-top box (STB) revenue — including IP, cable, satellite, and DTT STBs and OTT media servers – grew 4 percent in Q2 2014 from Q1 2014 to $4.8 billion.
Cable STB revenue increased by 3 percent sequentially in Q2 2014, and unit shipments grew 4 percent during this same period. Cable set-tops are growing due to an ongoing refresh cycle in North America and Europe.
Arris, the worldwide STB market share leader, gained almost 2 share percentage points in Q2 2014.
The report said over-the-top (OTT) media servers are becoming the STB of choice for pay TV providers in emerging markets such as China. In China, free video content is abundant and service providers are looking to bundle live streaming video with their own broadband offerings.
The worldwide STB market is expected to grow at a -0.05 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2013 to 2018 to $19.2 billion.
In 2018, satellite STBs are expected to contribute the majority of STB revenue at 36 percent.
Baburajan K
editor@telecomlead.com
