coverstory2808_cover story 29/08/2015 09:14 Page 1
The growth of OTT
services could have led
to a decline in the
market for DTH
providers and satellite
services in general, but
the advent of 4K,
coupled with the desire
of premium content
providers to exploit
rights further afield in
developing markets, has
put satellite’s bandwidth
and reach advantage
back in the limelight.
Colin Mann looks at who
is providing what,
where, and how the
market is likely to
develop.
lan Crisp, analyst with
specialist market research and
consulting firm NSR, suggests
that despite increasing concerns about
web-based OTT video, the linear TV
via satellite market will continue to
show solid growth. NSR’s Linear TV
via Satellite: DTH, OTT & IPTV, 8th
Edition, finds that, by 2024 the
market will see an increase of over
21,000 channels across both DTH and
video distribution platforms. The
proliferation of Ultra HD, HD and SD
channels, along with limited global
impact from OTT platforms, enable
A
Sky-high
prospects
linear TV via satellite to continue
upwards over the next decade.
“Although OTT platforms have become
increasingly mature in North America,
elsewhere the development of OTT platforms
is in its infancy and is expected to have
limited impact on traditional video platforms
in the short to medium term,” says Crisp.
In North America, subscriber numbers on
most cable TV platforms are declining as a
result of cord-cutting, and subscriber growth
for DTH platforms has been at sub-par levels
for some time. However, elsewhere
platforms are moving from strength to
strength, with the pull of exclusive content,
sports and localised
channels being a
significant draw for
consumers worldwide to
linear TV platforms – and
NSR does not expect this
trend to change soon.
BOTTLENECK.
Especially in developing
regions, access to high
quality and fast Internet
“The most
economical pointto-multipoint
mechanism
remains satellite.”
Bernard Riera,
Globecast
16 EUROMEDIA
access remains a bottleneck for the adoption
of OTT platforms, with wireless technologies
such as 3G/LTE not suited to the demanding
bandwidth required for streaming video
content. As such, unless a ubiquitous fixed
line or low cost satellite broadband service is
introduced, there remains limited impact to
the dominance of traditional pay TV
platforms, with a few exceptions. As such,
leased capacity video, the bread and butter
for satellite operators, continues to exhibit
strong growth, with over 3,500 satellite
transponders to be leased in 2024 for DTH
and video distribution services globally.
“Nevertheless, longer-term, it will
essentially be compulsory for DTH and other
pay TV platforms to offer OTT as a
supplementary service, to both increase
retention amongst existing subscribers, and
for signing up new subs based on exclusive
content, and effectively becoming a ‘onestop-shop’ for content as much as feasibly
possible,” states Crisp.
Alex Pannell, portfolio development
director with Arqiva, says that in the short to
medium term, hybrid TV (linear TV via