Spurred on by the likes of Google TV, ABI Research said in a recent report that more than 719 million global pay-TV customers will sign up for services this year.
“Google TV will be hoping to fare better. Its additional versatility should be more attractive to regular television viewers.”
ABI Research analyst Michael Inouye said Google TV holds promise because it combines Web-based video viewing with traditional TV fare on subscribers’ living room TVs.
Dish Network has started a trial of the service, which requires a Google TV set-top box that uses the Android platform.
“Google TV will be very much a competitor to Apple TV, which offers a similar service. Apple TV, however, can only access content that is available from the iTunes Store,” said ABI research associate Khin Sandi Lynn. “Google TV will be hoping to fare better. Its additional versatility should be more attractive to regular television viewers.”
Last year, the Asia Pacific region, with its 363 million pay-TV subscribers, had the lion’s share of the global pay-TV market, with cable TV still the major pay-TV platform, although ABI Research said inroads are being made by telco TV providers. ABI Research estimated that APAC would have a 31 percent share of the global telco TV market in 2010.
