Ninety-six percent of pay TV and OTT operators see a majority of both consumers and video service providers adopting 4K Ultra High-Def (UHD) by 2020, and a vast majority of service providers also believe consumers will pay a premium for content delivered in 4K.
That’s according to a new survey from digital content security company Irdeto and research firm SNL Kagan, which asked nearly 500 video service providers and content producers about their 4K industry forecasts.
The results saw 64% of video service providers and 73% of content producers saying consumers would be willing to pay up to 30% more to subscribe to 4K UHD content. Nearly 90% said they will offer 4K UHD content by 2020, with 78% saying they’ll have 4K content ready by 2018. Nearly two thirds of respondents said live sports will be the No. 1 driver of 4K content for consumers.
“4K UHD content brings new opportunities for video service providers and content producers along with a number of challenges associated with costs, compatibility and security,” said Godert Burghard, VP of global marketing for Irdeto, in a statement. “The industry also faces an ongoing problem of piracy, and 4K UHD is the next logical type of content that criminals will aim to steal.
“As our survey points out, pay TV operators and content producers expect 4K UHD content to be a key revenue driver in the coming years. As a result, it will be important to combat these challenges by implementing a proper 4K UHD security strategy that is compliant with MovieLabs’ Enhanced Content Protection requirements.”
