GS Group, a multi-industry high-tech holding company originating from  Russia has just concluded a comprehensive research of the Pay-TV market in Pakistan. The results of two-phased study revealed a  high demand for quality digital TV both among the mass market and higher-income sectors of the country. At the same time it unveiled the major problems influencing the quality of TV services in the country. 

Mobile analyst firm Juniper Research estimates that the number of smartphone shipments exceeded 280 million in Q4 2013, with an annual total of 980 million smartphones shipped for 2013, representing 39% year-on-year growth.

Samsung shipped over 300 million smartphones in 2013 accounting for just over 30% of all smartphone shipments, and represented a phenomenal 40% y-o-y growth compared to 2012. However, for the first time Samsung witnessed a quarterly fall in shipments and market share, to just over 81 million in Q4 2013. 

TiVo Inc. announced the results of its 2013 Social Media and Multitasking Survey. The survey found that, despite the prevalence of multitasking in everyday life, most are actually actively watching TV programming when their sets are on.

Location Based Services (LBS)  market in the Asia Pacific region to grow at a CAGR of 32.98 percent over the period 2013-2018, according to a new report by Research and Markets. One of the key factors contributing to this market growth is the increasing adoption of location-enabled devices in China and Southeast Asian countries. The LBS market in the APAC region has also been witnessing the increasing demand for free LBS applications. However, the lack of knowledge about LBS among users could pose a challenge to the growth of this market.

According to Euroconsult's newly released report, "India Satcom Markets 2014", India's satellite communication sector has experienced significant growth over the past five years driven by explosive demand from DTH pay-TV platforms and growing telecommunication needs in the country. The satcom value chain is strongly influenced by the Indian Space and Research Organization (ISRO) that is present all along the satcom value chain including for satellite manufacturing, launch, satellite operations, regulations and partially for services.

Worldwide pay-TV market reached 903.3 million subscribers in 2013, generating US$ 249.8 billion in service revenue. IPTV operators enjoyed significant growth (18.5% YoY) in 2013 to 92 million subscribers with a total of $37.2 billion in service revenue.

“Increasing FTTH subscriber base and bundled subscriber base of telcos are boosting the IPTV market. ABI Research forecasts that the IPTV subscriber base will grow to 161 million subscribers in 2019 accounting for 15% of overall pay-TV market,” comments Jake Saunders, VP and practice director of core forecasting.

Pay TV revenues in the Middle East and North Africa will grow by more than 83%  between 2010 and 2020 to US$ 5.60 billion, according to a new report from Digital TV  Research. 

Research and Markets  has announced the addition of the "Demand for Home Media Gateway Set-Top Boxes on the Upswing" report to their offering.  The report projects shipments of Home Media Gateway Products to surpass 24 Million in 2017. 

A new type of set-top box is appearing in the homes of some pay-TV subscribers. This box, called a home media gateway, supports advanced features such as multi-room personal video recording, streaming IP video, and multi-screen video service (commonly called TV Everywhere).

According to data released by The Diffusion Group, nearly nine in ten adult broadband users in the US subscribe to an incumbent pay-TV service such as cable, satellite, or telco-TV. The use of such services is greatest among adults 35 and older and less among younger adults.

Contribution encoders are used to compress the video and audio stream coming from the camera, truck or venue before it is transmitted to the studio. Contribution encoders are also used for compressing the stream as it is moved between studios. A new report by MRG forecasts that that this segment of the market will reach about US$ 320 million based on more than 20,000 units in 2017.