ABI: Mergers Will Drive Set-Top Box Standardization

Pay-TV operators will be the primary directors of set-top box (STB) standardization and technological development, according to a new report from ABI Research, with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and semiconductor companies playing supporting roles.

Bigger than ever as a result of mergers and acquisitions, pay-TV operators, ABI says, “are at the top of the set-top box food chain.

“The largest operators are responsible for the functional definition and direction, and have significant ownership over at least the logical layers of the implementation. Multi-source supply agreements, in which operators purchase functionally equivalent units from multiple vendors, are the norm today.”

Recent mega mergers will drive homogenization of STBs across larger markets, according to ABI. “The current large scale pay-TV operators we are seeing, including Comcast-Time Warner, AT&T-DirecTV, and Liberty Global’s acquisition of Virgin Media and Ziggo, will in the long term better align set-top box requirements across larger markets,” Sam Rosen, ABI Research practice director, was quoted in a press release.