An independent research project done on cable, satellite, IPTV (News - Alert) and OTT set-top box (STBs) found that the pay-TV market is rebounding after two years of significant declines.

In Quarter 1 2011, the market showed that operators are in the early stages of implementing hybrid IP networks that offer the best of both OTT (over-the-top) and on-demand services combined with linear broadcast.

“As such, the hybrid segment of the market will experience the strongest growth over the next few years,” said Teresa Mastrangelo, directing analyst for video at Infonetics Research (News - Alert), in a statement.

The first quarter 2011 (1Q11) Cable, Satellite, IPTV, and OTT Set-Top Boxes and Subscribers market size, market share, and forecast report finds that global set-top box market declined 10.2 percent in 1Q11 to $3.1 billion, primarily attributed to normal seasonal trends.

The cable STB segment continues to contract across lucrative North America and EMEA markets as demand slows for advanced services. The report says the cable STB segment experienced the strongest quarter-over-quarter revenue declines, down 12.9 percent.

The IP STB revenue declined 11.7 percent globally, mainly attributed to the lower than expanded demand for IPTV services in EMEA.

While the demand for OTT media services remained strong in 1Q11, Infonetics Research says challenges lie ahead for this category.

During 1Q11, hybrid STBs represented 8 percent of revenue and 7 percent of shipments; Netgem leads in hybrid IP/OTA STBs, Motorola (News - Alert) leads in hybrid IP/QAM STBs, and ADB leads in hybrid IP/DVB-S STBs.

While Motorola leads in terms of revenue, Pace leads in terms of unit shipments in STB market. Cisco is the leader in both revenue and shipments in IP STB market. Echostar (News - Alert) leads in worldwide satellite STB revenue, in a tight race with Technicolor.

 Recently, Infonetics Research revealedtrends in the telco IPTV, cable video and satellite video markets. The report finds that worldwide revenue derived by providers of IPTV, cable video, and satellite video services increased to $240 billion in 2010, an 11 percent raise compared to 2009. the latest

IPTV services and satellite video services experienced significant growth, according to Infonetics Research.

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO West 2011, taking place Sept. 13-15, 2011, in Austin, Texas. ITEXPO (News - Alert) offers an educational program to help corporate decision makers select the right IP-based voice, video, fax and unified communications solutions to improve their operations. It's also where service providers learn how to profitably roll out the services their subscribers are clamoring for – and where resellers can learn about new growth opportunities. To register, click here.