In Leading Regions, 100% 4K Penetration to be achieved by Streaming Media Adapters.

With the augment of DirecTV Now and YouTube TV, the relevance and uptake of streaming media devices is rising. Worldwide media adapters will amount to nearly 56 million shipments in 2022 and estimates that all those devices shipping in North America and Western Europe will be 4K in 2022. According to Sam Rosen, Managing Director and VP at ABI Research, 4K Streaming devices are being launched in the market for high end products. About 35% of 4K streaming device shipments are from North America and about 24% from Western Europe in 2017.

Revenue opportunities from UltraHD definition purchases and rentals as well as premium early release content will grow as the incidence of 4K TVs grows. Setting a premium pricing for these formats enhances the revenue opportunity for studios and video streaming service providers which will lead to a faster transition to 4K streaming media adapters.

According to Khin Sandi Lynn, Industry analyst at ABI Research, Video Streaming Services are increasingly replacing traditional pay-TV services as operators are collaborating with third-party OTT players or offer separate streaming services such as Dish Networks’ Sling TV and Now TV (by Sky) in Europe. This plethora of video streaming services that are low-cost without any contractual obligation leads to users adopting media streaming devices that can be provided freely or heavily subsidized rates so as to acquire more subscribers.

According to ABI Research, some service providers are offering dedicated streaming devices to “cut the cord” customers or customers who are about to unsubscribe pay-TV service. Although the traditional set top boxes provide pay-TV operators with high quality and flexibility, it’s a struggle for many pay-TV operators to convince consumers to install a new box that does not include other popular video services. Thus retail video streaming devices that support multiple streaming devices and smart TVs will most likely continue to dominate the market over operator-branded boxes. Read More