Upcoming Beijing Olympics will drive Chinese digital cable growth

[Dobe7777]

A major report says the upcoming Beijing Olympics will drive Chinese digital cable growth.


A major report says the upcoming Beijing Olympics will drive Chinese digital cable growth.
Screen Digest, in a joint report with China’s media regulator SARFT, says the Olympic Games is driving China’s cable operators towards digital, and forecasts that this year will see domestic take up for digital TV grow from 18% at the end of last year to 24% by the end of 2008.

“China is the world’s biggest TV market,” says the study. “With 378m TV households and 152m cable TV households at the end of 2007, China is the world’s largest TV market. Its cable TV industry generated €3.4bn in revenue in 2007 and is expected to grow at over seven per cent year-on-year to be worth €4.8bn by 2012. Cable dominates the multi-channel industry as satellite reception is banned and IPTV is in its infancy. As a result 40% of all homes have cable TV, and it accounts for 99% of the pay TV market.”

“With significant investment in the technological infrastructure across the country, the cable industry is rapidly converting to digital in time for the planned analogue switch-off in 2015. The Olympics is acting as a catalyst for this – as the Beijing Olympics will be the first all-HD Olympic Games. Digitisation and a raft of interactive TV services will drive average revenue per subscriber up,” suggests Screen Digest.

As to the companies directly involved in the Chinese digital expansion, the report says “Leading international technology providers like Thomson, Tandberg, Kudelski, Harmonic, NDS, Scientific Atlanta, Miranda, Arris and Irdeto are among foreign companies already finding success in China. Others like European cable giant Liberty Global are seeking to enter the market.”

“Despite the restrictions on foreign investment in the media industry, ample opportunities exist for overseas technology providers. In particular, those that supply head-end and studio equipment, video-on-demand systems, last-mile components and conditional access should be examining the marketplace closely. Although local competition is tough, foreign companies that take the time to understand the intricacies of the market have the potential to reap substantial rewards from such a huge marketplace.”

Lingjie Wang, Screen Digest’s TV and Video Analyst and author of the report says: “The opportunities in China for those that understand the market are huge. But China operates like no other territory in the world. Media is central to government policy and as the primary form of multi-channel television distribution cable holds a key place within that policy. With the Beijing Olympics fast approaching, the rate of change currently being witnessed by cable operators is unprecedented. Digital and HD roll out are firmly on the policy agenda and the changes set in motion throughout 2007 and 2008 will continue to impact business for many years to come.”

[Analoguesat]

Dobe please post the news items in an appropriate section. This one should not have been anywhere near the satellite section!

A source would be useful as well so we can see which sites you have been ripping the info off.

[reddiesel]

Blimey dobe you must be planning some big questions.

[王千源]

Five shop girls were burnt to death in Lhasa riot,by the CCP 'spies? Why did Hu Jintao have the protest "out of control"?So many Hui and Han killed, to show the "Dalai Lama's cruelty"?So many Hui and Han killed, to show the "Dalai Lama's cruelty"?

The CCP dare not talk with the Dalai Lama,for that will incur attention on the autarchic system!