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57 UHD channels now on air

The launch rate of UHD/4K channels is picking up pace, said satellite operator SES’s Ferdinand Kayser, chief commercial officer, at a press conference at IBC. He said various SES satellites were carrying 26 out of the 57 commercial UHD channels now broadcasting, “and more than any other operator, and outpacing the rest of the industry”.

Kayser said that the industry had revised its UHD expectations in view of 2016’s growth and, quoting data from analysts at Euroconsult, said SES expected rapid UHD channel expansion to take place among the planet’s emerging markets (expanding from 2015’s 16 UHD channels on air to more than 465 by 2025 (a 29-times growth-rate), while the ‘developed’ world would grow from 2015’s 23 channels to more than 282 by 2025.

“Consumers around the world are buying into large screens, of 49-inches and more. More than 25 per cent of all new sets sold in Germany are now UHD-equipped,” he added.

SES says analysts expect further strong satellite channel growth – in SD and HDTV – in emerging markets, where the channel count is likely to grow from a 2015 position of about 25,300 by some 35 per cent to 34,200 by 2025.