Set-top box (STB) shipments continued to decline in 2021, driven by a combination of migration to streaming, market saturation, consumer cost-cutting measures, and supply chain constraints. According to ABI Research, a global technology intelligence firm, subdued demand will result in a contraction of global annual STB shipments from 203.1 million in 2022 to 195.2 million in 2025.

Content creation has transformed thanks to the spread of distribution platforms that can spread its media, like social media and other forums. But within the last few years, certain areas of the content-creation market have set off exceptional ripples even for the larger digital revolution. For manufacturers of audio or video equipment, the question isn’t what they should expect these markets to do—it is how they should expect these markets to grow, and because of whom.

In these unprecedented times, television’s prominence as a link to the outside world has strengthened, becoming the primary source of entertainment for many. Inevitably, households became a battleground for the big screen. Viewers have been spending significantly more money last year on new TVs, additional sets and extra audio equipment to optimise viewing experiences, as well as keeping family members at peace.

Global telco cloud revenue will grow to US$29.3 billion by 2025, up from US$8.7 billion in 2020, at a 5-year Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 27%. The telco cloud growth will be driven primarily by cloud infrastructure-related investments.

Research identifies the importance of TV streaming platforms and devices in the emergence of internet video services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Hulu. Streaming video is increasingly viewed on TV screens rather than mobile devices, particularly during the pandemic, and TV streaming platforms will become a dominant force in video streaming in many countries as demand for traditional pay TV, broadcast and home video platforms declines.

A new data base released by Parks Associates found that the number of hours consumers spend watching online video per week has nearly doubled from 3.6 hours in 2017 to almost 7 hours in 2020 . Dallas-based Parks said at the same time traditional pay-TV service has declined from an adoption rate of 75% to 62% in U.S. broadband households between Q1 2017 and Q1 2020, which led a subsequent decline in set-top box adoption.

Across the Atlantic, European broadcasters have been developing their Hybrid broadcast and broadband TV (HbbTV) standard for over 10 years. Late to join this ‘living room revolution’, US broadcasters have only recently developed their own equivalent standard, known as ATSC 3.0. This delayed adherence, however, comes with its advantages. Specifically related to consumer interfaces and broadcast apps, Europe had to learn its lessons the hard way, from its own pioneering implementations.  

Disney+’s rollout has been one of the most discussed and debated content service launches ever. Futuresource is bullish about its prospects in most key markets, with it expected to challenge for the number two or three SVoD position behind Netflix and (where significant) Amazon Prime Video. The depth of content at launch is impressive, with approximately 600 movies and TV show franchises, providing a long tail of Disney content unmatched on existing services and with strong appeal to families. Futuresource estimates that around two-thirds of Disney+ subscribers will have children under 12, with this base crucial in helping maintain overall subscriber loyalty to the service across the long term.

Rethink TV, the TV research arm of Rethink Technology Research has released a forecast of the video revenues for four of the world’s largest pay TV and studio groupings, and finds that the only one that will have rock steady, uninterrupted growth is Netflix.