CAMBRIDGE, MASS.—In Northern Sky Research’s ninth edition of its Linear TV via Satellite report there is still a global growth market for Linear TV via Satellite as more than 12,200 channels are expected to be added over the next 10 years. Despite this growth leading to a total of more than 53,600 channels by 2026, NSR claims that Direct to Home (DTH) and video distribution growth are coming to an end due to market saturation and increased competition.

SD channels are expected to be the largest source of growth for DTH, per NSR, with more than two-thirds of channels to be in the SD format. There should also be channel growth occurring on the higher bandwidth HD format for satellite operators, indicating that DTH, cable and IPTV markets are reaching an inflection point in their product offerings. NSR says a reason for growth is to keep offering premium content to compete against OTT platforms and the fear that cutting channels may lead more to cut the cord.

The full report is available here.