Conditional access vendors to benefit from new content distribution channels

June 23, 2008 - The global market for conditional access systems exceeded US$1bn in 2007, according to ABI Research, and over the next five years the market is expected to grow further thanks to a "robust competitive environment" and alternate modes of content distribution such as IPTV offered by telcos.

“Extending access to content beyond the television adds to the revenue-generating capacities of service providers, while also offering flexibility to consumers,” says Zippy Aima, industry analyst for ABI Research. “Content owners are looking at new ways to make content available to consumers, and will take advantage of the Web 2.0 era. Though IPTV had a slow start, vendors see deployments not only in North America but also in Europe and Asia.”

The research firm forecasts that cable will continue to lead sales of conditional access systems over the next five years and reach global revenues of US$737mn, while telco IPTV will reach revenues of US$558mn and satellite TV will reach US$410mn. The positive prospects for the industry are also attributed to the worldwide transition from analogue to digital broadcasting, impelling government bodies to enforce the use of stringent content protection, and the birth of new business models to distribute digital content.