Pay TV operators worldwide are continuing to invest in advanced STBs, according to Dataxis—the firm analysed the details of more than 240 deals made by operators worldwide in the last three years. In terms of figures, APAC and Europe are the leaders by far, compared to North America. However, the size and value of these deals is more important in North America—key operators in the region continue to drive the industry.
Ultra HD is becoming a standard feature with 40% of all new deployments. Meanwhile, despite the rise of nPVR in many countries, most STBs include large hard-disk based PVR with multiple tuners. OTT integration has also become a key issue for all players.
Finally, the company said that just 20 key STBs vendors are capturing the whole market, using essentially only one major chip supplier, and with fewer than ten significant middleware solutions.
Android TV is now a major force, especially in some regions, with 30% of all deployments in 2017, though this doesn’t translate into a significant subscriber base yet. Dataxis expects significant growth for Android TV in the coming years, despite the fact that many major pay TV operators have opted for alternative solutions.
