Set-Top Market Both Up and Down

"The global set-top box market is in a fascinating period of mixed signals," wrote Jeff Heynan, Infonetics' principal analyst for broadband access and pay TV. "While quarterly unit shipments are up, on a year-over-year basis shipments are down. And though nearly all STB product categories saw volume increases in 2Q14, satellite shipments continue a downward trend, while cable set-tops are growing due to an ongoing refresh cycle in North America and Europe."

• Globally, set-top box revenue - including IP, cable, satellite, and DTT STBs and OTT media servers - is up 4% in 2Q14 from 1Q14, to $4.8 billion.
• Set-top unit shipments grew 7% sequentially in 2Q14, but are down 3% from the year-ago second quarter (2Q13).
• Cable set-top revenue increased by 3% sequentially in 2Q14, and unit shipments grew 4% during this same period.
• ARRIS, the worldwide set-top market share leader, gained almost 2 share percentage points in 2Q14 over 1Q14.
• Over-the-top (OTT) media servers are quickly becoming the set-top of choice for pay TV providers in emerging markets such as China, where free video content is abundant and service providers are looking to bundle live streaming video with their own broadband offerings.
• The worldwide set-top market is forecast to grow at a -0.05% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2013 to 2018, when it will total $19.2 billion. In 2018, satellite set-tops are expected to contribute the majority of set-top revenue at 36%.