Market news - Page №3

There will be just shy of 1bn pay-TV households worldwide by 2018, with IPTV accounting for around 167mn of them, according to UK firm Digital TV Research.

US sports broadcaster ESPN has decided to close down its dedicated 3D channel by the end of this year due to a lack of uptake, ending a three-year run for the channel.

Providing super-fast broadband to the whole of the European Union could be much less expensive than previously thought, according to UK research firm Point Topic, which estimates that the whole economic area could be served for €80bn — less than a third of the €270bn estimated by the European Commission in its Digital Agenda.

The worldwide market for content delivery network services will reach nearly US$ 6.9bn in 2017, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14% over the next five years, according to US firm BCC Research.

The number of digital TV homes in Eastern Europe will double between now and 2018 to reach 121mn, thanks to rapid progress for the region’s analogue switchover initiatives, according to UK firm Digital TV Research.

US online retailer Amazon is developing a TV set-top box that will give owners access to its over-the-top video services such as Amazon Instant Video, according to reports in Bloomberg Businessweek.

The market for 3DTV programming will remain immature by 2017 but still retains some growth prospects, according to new figures from Informa Telecoms & Media (publisher of IP&TV News).

Netflix has posted a strong Q1 with more than 3mn streaming members added in the first three months of this year, and revealed that it plans to launch in another European market in the second half of this year.

Despite the current interest in over-the-top (OTT) delivery, managed IPTV services continue to clock up lots of new subscribers, according to Pyramid Research, which reveals that developed Asian markets are adding the largest numbers.

UK firm Amino Technologies has won a supply contract for its set-top boxes with Russia’s KartinaTV, a provider of over-the-top video services to Russian-speaking communities in Germany, the US, Israel and the UK.

The pay-TV boom currently being enjoyed by operators in the Asia-Pacific region looks set to continue over the next five years, with revenues likely to more than double in five countries in the region, according to a new report from UK firm Digital TV Research.

Average fixed broadband speeds in the UK are now up to 12 Mbps, compared to 9 Mbps in May 2012, according to new figures from communications regulator Ofcom.

The DASH Industry Forum has just released implementation guidelines for the eagerly anticipated MPEG DASH-264 video delivery standard, covering both live and on-demand services.

US firm Rovi, a provider of digital entertainment solutions, has revealed that it is developing a new IP software platform that will enable cable TV operators to deliver IP-based multi-screen services and applications. without necessitating a complete infrastructure change.

With Christmas expected to bring another leap in ownership of tablets, smartphones and other devices, new research from Bell Labs, the research arm of Alcatel-Lucent, suggests that increasing consumption of video content on such devices will push the wired broadband networks that carry this traffic to their absolute limits over the next decade.