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22 January 2004 - The worldwide digital radio
market, both satellite and terrestrial, will grow
to over 19 million unit shipments in 2007, reports
In-Stat/MDR. The high-tech market research firm
believes that new content (stations that only
exist in digital) and data services will drive
consumer demand for radios. These factors are
already at work in the digital satellite radio
arena in the US and the digital terrestrial market
in the UK.
The conversion from analog radio to digital has
been a long, slow process that will take many
more years.
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When the first digital broadcasts became available
in Europe, receivers were too expensive for the mass
market. Over five years later, receiver prices have
come down, but many countries are still trialing digital
broadcasts, waiting for the regulatory framework to
be in place and digital coverage to expand.
In-Stat/MDR has also found that:
- In the countries that are the farthest along with
Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB), new, less expensive
radios are bringing more interest in DAB.
- Satellite radio has been successful in the US, and
other countries are hoping to duplicate that success.
In South Korea and Japan, providers want to deliver
not only audio streams but video streams as well.
- Several hundred million analog radios are sold worldwide
each year, in the form of stereo receivers, CD boom
boxes, portable devices, alarm clocks, and car stereo
systems. Reductions in the cost of digital tuners
will convert the more expensive of the analog radios
to digital by the end of 2007.
This Market Alert is drawn from the In-Stat/MDR report,
"Digital
Radio: Do You Hear What I Hear?", which discusses
trends in satellite and terrestrial digital radio worldwide,
and includes five-year forecasts for digital radio unit
shipments, ASPs, and revenues. Five-year forecasts are
also provided for satellite radio subscribers and digital
radio bill of materials.
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