Abstract
The growth of bandwidth and broadband content services is driving functionality and indeed the prominence of the set-top box (STB) in the living room. ISPs are increasingly seeing their role in the connected home as a firm and growing part of their overall strategy. Without a foothold in the home ISPs could be thrown to the wayside, as they increasingly compete with the content and consumer electronics (CE) vendor brands that are also rapidly pursuing the space.
This report looks into the current STB strategy of service providers, and how the evolution of the STB and key connected home players could impact this strategy. For this piece Ovum interviewed various operators and STB manufacturers, and has drawn upon consumer research Ovum conducted in North America.
Table of Contents
Ovum view
- The move to sophisticated boxes
- Analogue to digital
- Flexible high-quality TV & video
- STB as an island or a hub
- Feature differentiation
Barriers to innovation by ISPs
- Cost/revenue potential
- Reactive versus proactive strategy
- Technical issues
- Consumer understanding
- Brand
Competitive landscape
ISPs: strengths and weaknesses
- Strengths
- Weaknesses
Partnering
STB strategies for service providers
Case studies
- Case study: Sky
- Case study: Sony PS3 and Korea Telecom
Table of figures
- Figure 1: STB specifications - operators and output
- Figure 2: STB specifications - TV and video services
- Figure 3: STB specifications - connectivity
- Figure 4: STB specifications - other services and additional features
- Figure 5: ISPs' device strategy
- Figure 6: Actual device evolution
- Figure 7: Best practice STB strategy for service providers
- Figure 8: Sky' s device evolution
