In 2010, there was a rapid shift toward consumer electronics (CE) devices with networking and web content capabilities. Network-enabled CE devices have the ability to connect directly to the Internet or to a home network, while web-enabled, “Smart"  devices have to deliver IP-based video content for viewing either on the device itself or on a separate screen.   Both types of devices are expected to grow exponentially over the next five years.  By 2015, In-Stat (www.in-stat.com) predicts there will be 1 billion web-enabled, stationary CE devices in operation worldwide.

In its recently released report, Euroconsult forecasts that the market value for video transmission services over satellite including video distribution services for TV channels and contribution services for permanent and occasional use is expected to reach $27 billion in 2020, up from $15.8 billion in 2010.

The last decade has been a roller coaster ride in the Latin American FSS market with numerous peaks and valleys in both supply and demand. The decade started out with a mass of satellite launches that drove up supply, but transponder demand lagged leading to a buyer’s market with very low pricing. Then starting in about 2008, demand for capacity, most especially Ku-band transponders, grew very rapidly driven by DTH, video distribution and VSAT networking services for a plethora of rural connectivity, e-governance and USO projects.

North American satellite pay-TV providers have not been adding subscribers at the same rate as previous years. Competition has been fierce from cable and telco providers offering bundled services and gains in subscribers as a result of being the video portion of telco triple play offers, have mostly run their course.  In Europe, the market will be impacted by less need for set top boxes, because more TV sets have integrated satellite tuners and CI+ slots.

Television manufacturers are viewing 3D developments as the next big thing for the 3D TV industry, and expect it to boost sales and interest as much as color TVs did to black and white entertainment decades ago. They have already announced several 3D TV ready models, with many more to come in 2011. There is now talk of 3D broadcast channels in America, Europe and Asia for the coming years.

Global unit shipments of consumer electronics (CE) products will climb 2.6 percent in 2010, partly driven by rising sales of products that play a role in the connected home and that focus on usability—rather than technological wizardry—according to new IHS iSuppli research.

There has been solid growth in the Earth Observation (EO) market in the past few years due to a strengthening of demand for civil government and military EO satellites and associated data. However, this reliance on government and military organizations distorts true market economics, as only a few large users such as the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA) provide the majority of revenues for U.S.-based operators according to NSR.

A  new report entitled “Two Worlds Connected: Consumer Electronics Meets Mobile Broadband” from the UMTS Forum predicts that there will be  one billion Consumer Electronics (CE) devices connected to mobile broadband networks by 2016. While the market for connected devices remains embryonic, the study argues that CE device connectivity will outstrip overall wireless market growth in the next five years. This trend is signalled by a wave of device categories – from e-Book readers to satnav devices – that are already demanding access to cellular networks.

Preliminary results from the IMS Research study IPTV: A Global Market Analysis – 2011 Edition, reveal that the IPTV subscriber base in the emerging BRIC markets exceeds 8 million subscribers for 2010, with China dominating the figure.  A CAGR of 13% for BRIC is expected through the forecast period, which ends in 2015.

The Majority Deployed in North America and Europe