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Over 400,000 active Cablecards in the US
In March 2008, the NCTA reported that over 400,000 Cablecards have been installed in Unidirectional Digital Cable Ready Products (UDCP) privately owned by cable subscribers. There are currently 580 different UDCPs available to US consumers ranging from traditional STBs (similar to those supplied by the operator) to Integrated Digital TVs (IDTVs) which have a Cablecard slot and digital TV tuner built in. The same report also details that since the integration ban came into force operators have deployed over 4.6m STBs into the rental market with pre-inserted Cablecards, effectively re-integrating the CA system.
On July 1 2007 US government legislation known throughout the industry as the integration ban came into force. The ban demands that the CA components of STBs must be separable from the STB, theoretically ending the Motorola and Scientific Atlanta STB monopoly and improving consumer choice.
Whilst it is too early to comment on the success of the integration ban, cable operators have supplied almost 12 times as many Cablecards to subscribers by pre-inserting them into rented STBs in the last nine months than they have into customer owned-equipment in the last four years.
Our take...
Screen Digest data shows over 8m digital cable STBs were delivered to US cable operators in the nine months since July 1 2007. This means just over half the STBs delivered were Cablecard compatible. With the ban being a legal requirement the majority of future STB shipments will comply.
The trend clearly identified in the NCTA's report is that being a Cablecard only subscriber is, at the moment, an unattractive proposition for the majority of customers. The vast majority of Cablecard ready devices in the current installed base are unidirectional and not capable of two-way communication with cable networks. As a result many of the key features afforded by digital TV such as interactive programme guides and on-demand content (which rely on two-way communication) are unavailable to Cablecard customers. This gives the cable operators a de facto monopoly over the user experience regardless of the ban.
The slow rate of Cablecard only uptake shows that cable subscribers value these features and are willing to spend the extra dollars renting an STB to access them. A Cablecard currently costs around $2 a month to rent with a basic digital STB costing around $5 before the integration ban and $7 dollars after. This additional cost to consumers no doubt covers the estimated $20 dollars separating the CA system adds to STB purchase prices. Increasing availability of Multidirectional Digital Cable Ready Products (which can provide interactive features) could significantly increase the number of Cablecard only subscribers requiring only basic interactive services from sub-$100 STBS. With the current price of more advanced HD and PVR STBs above $500 it may prove more economical for many households to rent these boxes with the current $15 a month rate. Additionally, maintenance and upgrades are available at lower cost through a rental scheme than through retail for consumers.
Given the current pricing structure the majority of retail demand will be for low-tech, low margin, commodity products. Many of the big name manufacturers will find this market unappealing preferring to seek out high-tech, high margin deals with operators doing little to change the current industry status quo.
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Analyst, market intelligence & notices
Reports
Articles
(7) 1-7 showing
FCC bonanza in spectrum auction
Contenders have bid $20bn for frequencies released bythe forthcoming analogue switch-off. Verizon bid the most money, AT&T secured the most licences
published:
23-Apr-08
territories:
USA - North America
Ronan de Renesse
Free-to-air mobile TV market grows
More than 15m people in Asia subscribe to free-to-air mobile TV services
published:
01-Nov-07
territories:
Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea. Rep [S], Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, USA - World
Ronan de Renesse
Broadcasting on the Internet
A listing of the online video sites operated by broadcasters or which are displaying broadcast content.
published:
15-May-07
territories:
Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, UK, USA - Europe, Nordic Region, North America
Tim Westcott
Rise of high definition TV channels
At the end of 2006 there were 106 high definition television channels worldwide. We forecast there will be 250 by 2010, 120 of them in Europe
published:
25-Jan-07
territories:
UK, USA, Australia, China, Germany, Italy, Korea. Rep [S], Poland, Sweden, France - Europe, Nordic Region, North America
Vincent Létang
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Western Europe
Demand by country