Digital TV to reach 274mn homes in Western Europe and US by 2012

August 21, 2008 - Digital TV (DTV) adoption will show strong growth in Western Europe and the US over the next two years as the analogue switch-off looms and consumers seek enhanced features and content breadth, according to a new report from Datamonitor, and by 2012 there will be an estimated 274mn homes in these regions with digital TV.

"DTV will grow an average of 12% year-on-year, with particularly strong adoption in the near term as broadcasters terminate analogue terrestrial television," says Chris Khouri, analyst for media and broadcasting at Datamonitor and the report's author."In 2007 there were 158mn households using digital television services in Western Europe and the US. By 2012, Datamonitor expects there to be an estimated 274mn digital TV households in these regions."

According to the report, entitled "Western European and US Digital TV Adoption, 2008, IPTV will show the strongest average yearly growth to 2012 out of all the digital TV platforms in the regions, growing at around 28% yearly to reach nearly 23mn by 2012. Satellite is expected to show 'very moderate' growth during the period of 5.5% per year to reach around 86mn households by 2012. Digital cable and DTT are expected to have the largest net additions to 2012, achieving net household increases of 50mn and 30mn respectively.

Datamonitor also expects there to be a 'significant' migration away from free-to-air services in the medium to long term, as bundled offerings, enhanced features and premium content grow in importance to consumers. "Pay-TV platforms - such as cable, satellite, and IPTV - are facing new challenges to ensure that their services remain compelling and attractive", added Khouri. "For many service operators, this challenge is growing increasingly pertinent as non-traditional competitors enter into the marketplace."

At the end of last year, 54% of homes in Europe and the US had some form of digital TV service according to the report, and this is predicted to grow to 88% by the end of 2012, due primarily to a significant increase in DTT households.