New MRG Study Shows Worldwide Digital Installed Base To Reach Over 53 Million In 2005

Digital Cable Set-Top Box (STB) Sales Surpass $5.3 Billion As VOD, PVRs, And HDTV Gain Foothold

24-Apr-02

MRG, Inc. (Multimedia Research Group, Inc.) announced that the worldwide growth of digital cable STBs (Set-Top Boxes) should exceed $5.3 billion in annual sales in 2005, driving the worldwide installed base to over 53 million. Growth of related (basic and incremental) digital services should exceed $31 billion (annually) by 2005. Most incremental service revenues will come from advanced versions of video-on demand (VOD), subscription video-on-demand (SVOD), personal video recorders (PVRs), advanced Electronic Program Guides (EPGs), and some HDTV (high-definition TV) services. Most new digital cable subscriptions will come from North America, Europe, Latin America, and Asia, as described in the report.  Over 50 key cable operators and suppliers are covered, including major MSOs (multi-system operators) AOL/Time Warner Cable, AT&T Broadband, Cox, Comcast, Rogers, Shaw, Telewest, TV Cabo, Canal Plus, Callahan Associates, NTL, Liberty, Charter, AuStar, SARFT, and others. Suppliers reviewed include industry innovators like Motorola, Microsoft, NDS, Pace, Thomson, SeaChange, DIVA, Concurrent, nCube, Moxi/Digeo, Scientific-Atlanta, SONICblue, TiVo, CacheVision, and many others.  The new study, ""Home Gateway 2002: Worldwide Cable Market Forecast For Digital Set-Top & Related VOD, PVR & ITV Services -- 2002-2005,"" reflects how quickly the global cable business responded to the threat from digital satellite. ""Never before have we seen the bandwidth gains for digital cable distribution that we've witnessed since 1996 when major HFC (Hybrid Fiber Coax) cable network upgrades began,"" comments analyst Chris Schwafel. ""The annual doubling of storage capacity (centralized, local, and edge) also is providing a major driver of advances in on-demand services,"" adds Gary Schultz, Director of Research and CEO.  By showing ROI scenarios for deploying SVOD, VOD, and PVRs, the report reveals how a cable operator can reach profitability in 12-18 months by adding these services. This 195-page report also provides results of MSO and supplier surveys on digital cable subscriptions, VOD, and PVR features.  For more information, visit www.mrgco.com.

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