SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ.: Free broadcast mobile TV is on the rise around the world, In-Stat folks say. The market for mobile TV tuner chips, both analog and digital, is projected to hit $400 million in four years.
“The biggest problem for mobile TV services is that they are developing on a country-by-country basis,” Ins-Stat’s Gerry Kaufhold said. “The fragmentation of standards in different regions with different adoption rates, poses a challenge for technology manufacturers developing unique decoder technologies for each segment. However, the growing revenue opportunity is still appealing.”
China and some Latin American countries, for example, use analog transmission for mobile video. In-Stat said growth is “booming” in both regions. Mobile digital TV services are on the rise in Asia and getting off the ground in the United States. In-Stat said the U.S. service would “drive solid growth in a few short years.”
The compound annual growth rate for worldwide value of all mobile TV tuners will be more than 12 percent from 2009 through 2014, In-Stat says. Unit shipments for digital mobile TV tuners are expected to triple during the same period, with more of them being integrated into mobile phones, laptops and notebooks, portable media players, smartphones, portable navigation devices, portable game consoles and automotive TVs.
