Over 250 million new set-top boxes were shipped globally in 2015, up slightly on the 248 million the previous year. Demand was driven by emerging markets such as China and India. The global multichannel television market is estimated to be nearly 960 million subscribing homes.
A report from SNL Kagan suggests that there has been no real drop in demand for set-top boxes, although revenues are forecast to decline.
Satellite boxes continue to be the largest segment, representing nearly half of all set-top box shipments in 2015.
Cable boxes account for almost 75 million units, which is around the same number as in 2014. With many of the world’s largest cable television markets approaching saturation, or experiencing increasing competition from other pay-TV platforms, demand for cable set-top boxes is expected to be flat in the near-term.
IP boxes are also projected to remain relatively flat over the next few years, as declining demand in North America offsets growing demand in Europe and Asia.
Digital video recorder shipments trended lower in 2015. The report notes that some service providers are reducing their purchases of digital video recorders because of cost concerns, while others are introducing network based recording services.
High-definition enabled boxes account for three quarters of boxes shipped in 2015, which means that there were still over 60 million new standard definition devices.
Despite higher volumes, product revenues are forecast to decline. Currently worth about $17.50 billion a year, they are expected to fall to around $14.5 billion by 2019.