Set-top shipments fall, OTT takes up the slack

Global set-top sales fell by 1% in the fourth quarter of last year to US$3.63 billion (€2.55 billion), according to a report by Infonetics Research. The cable sector saw the biggest quarter-on-quarter fall in set-top shipments.

Infonetics predicts that set-top shipments will grow 25% between now and 2015, but revenues will fall by 5% to US$13.1 billion.

Infonetics saw dramatic growth in over-the-top services in the fourth quarter, with standalone boxes from the likes of Apple, Roku and Boxee experiencing the strongest sequential growth, driven by growing uptake of services from service providers including Netlflix, Hulu and Lovefilm, amongst others.

OTT media server revenue grew by 90% last year, according to Infonetics, and is expected to grow to US$1.16 billion in 2015. Competition between set-top market leaders Pace, Motorola and Technicolor is tight, with Infonetics expecting Motorola to take top revenue spot for the fourth quarter thanks to its position in the US market.