News Analysis

Traditional TV still the Main Choice for US Viewers

New York, NY, August 2, 2012--As new ways to consume media give viewers greater choice of how, when, and where to watch, an old standby—the television—is making headway in the race for market cachet. “Internet Protocol TV has grown dramatically over the course of the last year. People talk about ‘the TV is dead, or that it’s dying,’ but it doesn’t look like it yet,” said Pat McDonough, Nielsen’s SVP Insights Analysis and Policy.

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Futron Releases the Fifth Edition of its Space Competitiveness Index

The U.S. remains the overall leader in space competitiveness, but its relative position has declined for the fifth straight year

 

Bethesda, Maryland, August 1, 2012-- Futron Corporation announced the publication of the fifth-anniversary edition of the 2012 Space Competitiveness Index: A Comparative Analysis of How Countries Invest in and Benefit from Space Industry, an independent study of global space competitiveness.

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Satellite DTH Boom Continues

London, UK, July 26, 2012--The number of pay Direct to Home (DTH)  homes for 80 countries covered in a new report by Digital TV Research will be 220 million by end-2017, up from 154 million at end-2011 and 91 million at end-2007. India will lead the sector with 50.9 million pay DTH homes in 2017, followed by the US with 36.5 million. Russia (14.7 million) and Brazil (14.6 million) will take third and fourth places respectively.

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Worldwide Mobile Data Traffic Will Exceed 107 Exabytes in 2017, But That Doesn’t Imply a Data Tsunami

London, UK., July 25, 2012--The global volume of mobile data traffic will exceed 107 exabytes in 2017, shows a new forecast from ABI Research. This total traffic volume will be eight times more than what is expected for 2012. But how significant a growth rate would this represent, exactly?

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Brazilian Pay TV Subscribers Grew 14.5% in the first half of 2012

Brasilia, Brazil, July 24, 2012--During the first half of 2012 subscribers to pay TV services in Brazil grew 14.5% compared to the same period last year, totaling 14.5 million subscribers, according to the Brazilina National Telecommunications Agency ANATEL (Agencia Nacional de Telecomunicaciones).

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Mobile Integration Key to 57 Million Smart Set-Top Box Market

Scottsdale, Ariz., July 20, 2012--Smart set-top boxes often garner less attention than other connected CE devices like TVs and game consoles – Apple has referred to its Apple TV as a “hobby” although it leads the market with around 4 million units shipped through 2011. Roku has had recent success (e.g. passing 2.5M units in 2011), but the future looks at the very least challenging for these dedicated streaming devices to break out of a niche status. TVs, game consoles, Blu-ray players, and even mobile devices are quickly conspiring to engender a very competitive market for the digital living room. Even so, set-top box shipments are expected to reach as high as 57 million by 2017.

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Game Changers: HTS and O3b to Disrupt Wireless Backhaul via Satellite Market

New NSR Report Forecasts Significant Satellite-Based Backhaul Growth over Next Decade


Cambridge, Mass. July 17, 2012 - NSR's newly released Wireless Backhaul via Satellite, 6th Edition finds a dramatic long term shift from legacy SCPC and TDMA systems to High Throughput Satellites (HTS) and O3b. The market shift brings threats, as well as opportunities, for market players involved in space segment capacity and end-to-end services along with companies in the equipment segment. The global satellite backhaul market is expected to reach $2.3 billion in 2021, growing almost three-fold from today’s $800 million annual revenue base.

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Euroconsult Sees a Turning Point for FSS Operators

Market characterized by innovative capital investments, emergence of new players, and diverging performances

Paris, France, July 12, 2012 –Euroconsult announced the findings of its most recent study of fixed satellite services. The report entitled "Company Profiles, Analysis of FSS Operators," now in its 5th edition, indicates that regional operators in particular continued to see strong business growth from various applications including DTH TV broadcasting, cellular backhaul and enterprise networks. Many of these regional operators are continuing their ambitious expansion plans with growing satellite fleets and a number of satellite launches still ahead in the coming years.

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Cisco-NDS and Google-Motorola Acquisitions Upend TV Middleware Market

Scottsdale, Ariz., July 10, 2012--The TV middleware market, long led by Nagra (25% worldwide 2011 market share) and NDS (24%) worldwide and Motorola (19%) and Cisco (11%) in North America, is in a massive state of upheaval as Cisco’s bid for NDS waits to close, (it is expected in early August 2012) while Google has yet to give a clear direction for its recently acquired Motorola Home business unit. “Operators are reluctant to significantly change direction with the current uncertainty, except where they decide to bring middleware development in-house,” according to Sam Rosen, practice director, TV & video at ABI Research.

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In Satellite Contracts, What You Do Not Know Can Hurt You

by Robert Bell

New York City, July 9, 2012--Satellite capacity is a uniquely valuable asset.  It can do some things, like broadcasting one signal to millions of destinations, better and cheaper than any other technology.  But it is also a scarce asset, thanks to the laws of physics and the skilled yield management of the operators that fly spacecraft in Earth orbit.