[Satellite TODAY Insider 08-10-11] Emerging markets will experience stronger TV set shipment growth over the next four years than more developed markets, according to an IMS Research report issued Aug. 8.

The report, “Television Shipment Database and Forecast,” indicates that in the next five years, TV set shipments will increase in Latin America, Eastern Europe, MEA and most of Asia Pacific, with a compound annual growth rate of 2.2 percent. TV shipments are expected to decline in Japan and Western Europe, while the North American TV market are forecast to remain stable through 2015.

            Last week, IMS issued a report, “Over-the-Top Video – Service Delivery & Business Models – 2011 edition,” which looked at what impact Over-The-Top (OTT) television would have on the traditional pay-TV industry. According to this report, IMS Research predicts that in 2016, OTT video services will generate $16.4 billion in 2016 and video-on-demand (VOD) services from pay-TV operators will generate another $14.7 billion, for a combined $31.1 billion in on-demand revenues.

            IMS Research forecasts that 5.9 billion pay-OTT transactions (PPV and subscription) will be initiated via fixed in-home devices in 2016, up from an estimated 563 million pay-OTT transactions in 2011. This compares to a forecast of 12.9 billion pay-VOD and OTT transactions initiated via the pay-TV set-top box in 2016, up from an estimated 5.2 billion in 2011.

            Paul Erickson, an IMS Research analyst, previously told Satellite TODAY Insider that OTT offered new opportunities for satellite players. “It is a potential opportunity to deliver VOD and other services that the satellite operator cannot currently deliver, and thus potentially enables stronger retention, additional revenue streams, and greater competitiveness. Consider that for the broadband infrastructure to be in place for OTT video to be available, there are usually either cable operators or telcos behind those broadband services,” he said. “Additionally, there are the various OTT services available over the Internet. Long term, it is in the satellite operator’s competitive interest to embrace the use of a broadband connection not only for VOD and connected services (e.g. remote scheduling and streaming playback), but also for incorporating various sources of non-cannibalistic OTT video within their user experience.”