A new report from IMS Research is projecting increased demand for hybrid settop boxes that can access both free and pay TV services, with shipments for these boxes expected to reach nearly 87 million by 2015.
Such boxes have been particularly popular in Europe, where there are many free digital terrestrial services like Freeview in the U.K. that operators often combine with pay or VOD content. In the U.S., hybrid settop boxes could find a wider audience as IP delivery of video becomes more prevalent.
"While some doubted how quickly it would happen, augmenting traditional video delivery methods with additional content and services over IP has finally come of age," potentially changing the competitive landscape for both pay and broadcast TV noted Paul Erickson, senior analyst at IMS Research, which has just released The World Market for Hybrid Set-top Boxes-2010 Edition.
Read more at B&C here.
