Study Finds Installation Base Of 20 Million Digital TV Homes, Potential For New Growth Beyond Satellite

2-Nov-00

More than 20 million digital television (DTV) systems have already been installed from northern Canada to the tip of Chile, bringing with it significantly more programming and soon the ability to order new services with interactive features, according to a new study by Digital Technology Consulting (DTC).""The rollout of digital television services represents the biggest business opportunity since the introduction of color television in the 1950s for content owners, equipment manufacturers, system operators and broadcasters,"" said Martin Levine, co-founder of the DTC market research and consulting firm that covers the consumer digital marketplace. ""The results to date underscore the willingness of consumers to pay for more programming choices and better picture quality.""""Digital TV In The Americas,"" a detailed examination of the market to date, examines the digital results in North, South and Central America and the Carribean. Satellite programming, sent directly to the home from outer space, has been the early delivery leader in the U.S. and other countries in the Americas, noted DTC co-founder Myra Moore.But other delivery systems are now becoming competitors, and cable appears to be establishing a more competitive position in delivering digital television to already wired homes. She said, ""There is now strong parallel growth in direct-to-home (DTV) satellite delivery and digital cable subscribers with both platforms succeeding on their own efforts. That suggests that the main benefit of digital video - more programming choices - is the critical factor, not the differences from one platform to another.""The digital television study being released Digital Technology Consulting discusses a variety of issues that lead to possible winners and losers in the digital television competition in the Americas. Other points made in the report include:- While telephone company participation in digital video services in North America ""has fizzled considerably,"" the development of more advanced Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)-based delivery platforms is creating another opportunity for telcos to deliver multichannel digital television services to the home.- Latin America can already count more than 2,000,000 digital satellite subscribers and ""improvements in overall economic conditions will help keep growth rates robust in the immediate future.""- Cable system operators are preparing to use their single greatest advantage over other platforms - real time, two-way broadband interactivity - through the deployment of interactive TV and transactional services.- A bright spot for television broadcasters who can distribute digital television using a terrestrial platform is the prospect of entering the lucrative high-speed datacasting business. ""If broadcasters can marry the advantages of a nationwide service delivered through a local broadcast portal, they might develop a business that would be competitive with cable and direct-to-home delivered alternatives,"" the DTC report suggested.""Digital TV in the Americas,"" the first of three reports that will also include ""Digital TV In Europe"" and ""Digital TV In Asia/Pacific,"" comprise a Digital Intelligence 2000 joint service between Digital Technology Consulting and Screen Digest, the preeminent British research service in this area.