Asia leading the way on digital TV growth

Asia will lead the rush to digital television, with a forecast doubling of digital TV homes between 2013 and 2020, according to researchers.

They say an extra 88 million homes will be added in 2014 alone and the region will supply two-thirds of the 762 million new digital TV household added between 2013 and 2020. China became the largest digital TV household nation in 2010 and will boast 460 million digital homes by the end of 2020 – or 27% of the global total – while India will add 118 million digital TV homes between 2013 and 2020 and will overtake the US to take second place in 2015.

In a report by Joseph O’Halloran on rapidtvnews.com, the predictions by Digital TV Research forecast that an increase of 185% in digital TV homes worldwide from 2010–2020 to 1.68 billion will see a total penetration globally of 97.9%. 

The Digital TV World Household Forecasts for 138 countries, if realised, would mean that 94 countries would be completely digital by 2020, compared to only 12 at the end of 2013. About 124 countries will have more than 90% digital penetration by 2020. 

Of the 762 million digital TV homes to be added between 2013 and 2020, 258 million will come from digital cable which is set to become the most popular TV platform in 2014 and will account for 33% of the world’s TV households in 2020, with Belgium leading at 64.9%.

By 2020, free-to-air digital terrestrial transmission (FTA DTT) penetration will exceed more than half the TV households in 41 countries. Pay TV over the Internet (IPTV) is forecast to more than double to 191 million.