By 2006, Europe is expected to overtake the United States to become the largest digital TV market in the world and by 2008, household penetration is expected to hit a staggering 89 million.
The
Digital TV Markets 2004 report from Datamonitor says, following initial disappointing growth levels in Europe, digital subscriber figures in this region now have renewed vigour, spurred on by the UK which remains the most highly penetrated digital TV market in the world.
Datamonitor forecasts that by 2008, 59% of European households will have made the transition to digital TV, compared with only 21% at the end of 2003. Penetration in the UK is expected to reach 82%, Italy 58%, Germany 56% and France 54%
Due to the continuing success of Freeview, the UK looks set to keep its crown as the fastest growing digital terrestrial TV (DTT) market throughout the decade. Also, the announcement of 200 non-subscription digital TV and radio channels from BSkyB will help bolster this market further, says Datamonitor (see BSkyB To Drive Digital Demand Through New Initiatives).
At the end of 2003, the US market had the greatest number of digital TV households, with more than 43 million, compared with Europe which had 31 million. Datamonitor expects the intense competition between cable and satellite operators to continue to be a key factor in the US market and unlike Europe, DTT is not expected to be become a significant driver.
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