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
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
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