Cisco, Motorola Top STB Market Segment
5/6/2008 -- It was a banner year for the cable set top box (STB) market, meaning it was also a banner year for STB co-leader Cisco Systems Inc., which -- you'll recall -- vaulted into STB contention with its $7 billion acquisition of Scientific Atlanta two years ago. For the year, the STB segment notched new highs in terms of both unit shipments and revenues, according to market watcher In-Stat.
What's driving STB growth? For starters, demand in emerging markets (such as China) for basic digital boxes along with sustained demand (in mature markets, such as North America) for advanced digital boxes, according to In-Stat.
Not surprisingly, Motorola and Cisco are tops, respectively, in the STB market, although both vendors are ceding share to Chinese STB manufacturers, which are ramping up production. Both Motorola and Cisco now control less than half (45 percent) of the worldwide STB market, according to In-Stat.
All the same, STB revenue growth should continue unabated over the next few years, said In-Stat analyst Mike Paxton.
"The next several years also look bright for this market," Paxton said in a prepared release. "[We're] forecasting that demand for worldwide digital cable set top boxes will remain strong through 2012, although unit shipments will decrease gradually throughout the forecast period as the analog to digital cable TV transition matures."
The People's Republic of China is a hotspot, in particular. Chinese consumers gobbled up more than 14.7 million digital boxes last year, an increase of 48.5 percent from last year's tally. STB unit shipments also surged last year, jumping from 29.7 million to 41 million units; meanwhile, STB revenues eclipsed $6 billion in 2007 -- a 25 percent increase from the year-ago tally.
Basic STB shipments continue to grow, thanks to red-hot demand in China, but shipments of high-end boxes -- such as HD-capable or PVR-enabled units -- also reached new highs last year. According to In-Stat, more than 11 million high-end boxes were sold last year, a 30 percent increase over 2006's tally. --Stephen Swoyer
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