The rollout of Ultra HD (UHD) via satellite will see the number of channels surpass 785 by 2025, according to a Northern Sky Research (NSR) report.
‘UHD via Satellite, 3rd Edition’ identified 2016 as a key inflection point for the UHD satellite rollout, stating that bandwidth capacity will drive an additional $280 million in annual leasing revenues.
NSR’s report analyses satellite-based UHD across three major methods of consumption: DTH, cable TV and IPTV, exploring end-user requirements, ecosystem development, cost considerations and business model options.
“Given the exponential increases we’ve seen on 4K TV shipments, introducing UHD channels and packages is a key strategy to retain and grow pay-TV subscriber bases in an increasingly competitive environment,” said Alan Crisp, NSR analyst and report author.
“Additionally, this is a vital competitive response to OTT platforms’ ever expanding online content catalogues.
“While in the short term DTH, cable TV and IPTV platforms will offer UHD for ‘free’ with existing premium channel bundles, longer term UHD will achieve higher revenue streams generated by increasing ARPUs and subscriber levels.”
The report stated that the plunging price of 4K TV sets accelerates interest and demand in the new format, setting 4K TV penetration rates to rise faster than the initial introduction of HD TVs.
In the long term, NSR predicts that UHD will pay dividends to pay-TV providers and will form a critical component of most platforms by 2025.
