Global Digital TV Growth to Be Led by AsiaPac

LONDON: The number of digital TV homes globally is expected to rise by 180 percent between 2010 and 2020, with the Asia-Pacific region driving much of this growth, according to new figures from Digital TV Research.

The total is forecast to reach 1.65 billion by 2020, an increase of 1 billion from the 2010 figures. The total is predicted to climb by 134 million homes this year alone.

Penetration is set to reach 97.6 percent globally for digital TV by end-2020. At that time, 93 countries should be completely digital, compared with only 17 at the end of 2014.

The number of digital TV households in the Asia Pacific will increase by 400 million between 2014 and 2020, with 93 million to be added in 2015 alone. The region will supply two-thirds of the 608 million digital TV household additions between 2014 and 2020. Sub-Saharan Africa will more than double its base over the same period, with Latin America nearly doubling its total.

China will count 454 million digital homes by end-2020, with 27 percent of the global total. India will overtake the U.S. to take second place in 2015. India will add 95 million digital TV homes between 2014 and 2020 to double its total. Brazil will take fourth place and Russia fifth by 2020. Indonesia is forecast to leap to sixth place, from 23rd in 2014, by adding 43 million digital TV households.

These figures are according to the latest Digital TV World Household Forecasts report.