Print Page 9/30/2009

SCOTTSDALE, AZ.: In-Stat says worldwide shipments of over-the-air digital set-tops diminished in the second quarter, even with the June spike attributable to the U.S. digital transition. Demand for the set-top digital-to-analog converters rose sharply in June, when over-the-air analog signals were shut down in the U.S. Commerce Department numbers showed that around 840,000 coupons for the converters were redeemed in June; by August, the redemption rate was down by about 85 percent.

Demand was greater in the first quarter, however, when the transition initially was scheduled to take place. The original Feb. 17 deadline drove requests for the $40 coupons during the first quarter. During the first two weeks of March alone, nearly 1.3 million were redeemed.

In-Stat said terrestrial DTV set-top shipments fell by nearly 35 percent in the second quarter compared to the first. The shift attributed to falling shipments in North America, which were offset partially by 50 percent growth in Asian markets to more than 1.2 million unites. (Regional segmentation includes North America, Europe, Middle East/Africa, Latin America, and Asia.)

The research firm said 20.3 million satellite set-tops were shipped in 2Q, making it the largest set-top segment among cable, satellite, IPTV and digital terrestrial TV. While IPTV set-top shipments dropped slightly between Q1 and Q1, growth in hi-def IPTV boxes was “strong,” In-Stat said, up 9 percent.

In-Stat expects full-year 2009 unit shipments to be flat compared with 2008. Total revenue will decline by about 1 percent to just below $17 billion in 2009.

(Image by Mark Zahn)

More DTV transition stuff:
September 8, 2009: “U.S. DTV Adoption Exceeds 99 Percent”
More than 99 percent of U.S. homes are now able to receive digital television signals, Nielsen said today. As of Aug. 30, a total of 710,000 homes still had no TV reception, though 59 percent of those were said to have access to a low-power station or one across the Canadian or Mexican border. Those households relying on LPTV had, on average, 3.2 stations available.

July 28, 2009: “Friday is the Final Day to Get a DTV Converter Coupon”
The federal government’s digital-to-analog converter subsidy program is reaching its sunset. Friday is the last day to apply for the $40 coupons good for certified DTV converter set-top boxes.

July 21, 2009: “LG’s DTV Hotline Gets 20,000 Calls in June”
LG’s operators took more than 88,000 calls during the first six months of the year.

July 16, 2009: “TV-less Households Now Total 1.5 Million”
Nielsen said today that 200,000 homes have upgraded to digital television in the last two weeks… leaving 1.5 million American households unable to receive DTV signals through the week ending July 12.

July 1, 2009: “More Stragglers Make the Transition”
Another 400,000 homes made the digital transition over the last week, according to the latest Nielsen numbers. Since the June 12 switch to digital television, Nielsen more than 800,000 homes have tuned into DTV. The total number of TV-less homes now stands at 1.7 million.

June 24, 2009: “U.S. Households With No TV Now Number 2.1 Million”
Around 400,000 U.S. households have made the transition to digital television since analog signals were shut down June 12. The number comes down from Nielsen, which said as of June 21 around 2.1 million homes in the nation--1.8 percent of all TV households--still had no TV reception.

June 16, 2009: “Retailers Inundated by DTV Callers”
“I’m up to my neck and totally frustrated,” Raymond Haley, owner of Haley’s Television Sales and Service, told the Danville News. “It’s been a hectic thing the last two or three days since they shut it off. Most of it is they don’t get certain channels they’ve been used to getting, and that gets them totally confused.”   Print Page