Synopsis
Although the transition to digital TV (ie analogue switch-off) has been proposed for over a decade, by the end of 2008 an estimated 10 million US households were still relying on analogue television. Accordingly, in early January 2009 president-elect Barack Obama requested Congress to consider delaying the switch-off date amid fears that millions of viewers were unprepared for the transition. Meanwhile, the interactive capabilities of digital TV continues to witness the growth of Video-on-Demand services, while sales of DVRs and HDTV simultaneously gather momentum. In 2008 the telcos’ had started becoming notable participants in the TV market, with Verizon’s FiOS TV making it close to the top-10 in terms of subscriber numbers. The market is thus moving to a triple play model in which the telcos, with their expanding fibre network deployments and new IPTV offerings, are likely to become a major force. The other significant trend is the increasing use of VoD or downloading as a means of video consumption.