In a recent study, research firm ABI Research (News - Alert) has revealed that the market for conditional access systems surpassed $1 billion worldwide in 2007. The market included legacy vendors such as NDS and Nagravision, newer players such as Widevine and Verimatrix, and new entries from giants such as Cisco and Sun Microsystems (News - Alert). The research from ABI looks at the key trends influencing further development in the conditional access market.

 

The study, “DRM and Conditional Access,” examines the role of conditional access technology in the pay-TV market. It discusses the available solutions as applicable to cable, telco, and satellite and covers factors driving and restraining the growth of the market. The study also profiles the vendors offering those solutions and provides pricing trends and market forecasts, which include forecasts by region and market segment.

 

While the governments of Asian countries are taking measures to move towards digital transmission, in the United States, the FCC (News - Alert) has set a deadline of 2009 for completing the transition from analog to digital. The governments of various countries are also enforcing the use of conditional access technologies.

 

This digital revolution and availability of platforms to distribute that content has opened up new avenues for all companies tied to the entertainment business. Vendors across the digital media value chain are reaping the benefits of the evolution of the marketplace, right from the content creation to delivery.

 

ABI Research states that cable will continue to lead the pack through 2013, providing revenues of $737 million by 2013. By that year, Telco and satellite technologies will reach revenues of $558 million and $410 million, respectively.

 

“Extending access to content beyond the television adds to the revenue-generating capacities of service providers, while also offering flexibility to consumers,” says Zippy Aima, ABI Research industry analyst. “Content owners are looking at new ways to make content available to consumers, and will take advantage of the Web 2.0 era. Though IPTV had a slow start, vendors see deployments not only in North America but also in Europe and Asia.”