pace_pace 12/07/2013 17:56 Page 1
STB or no STB, that is the question?
perators are looking to reduce their operating complexity and costs; the Internet has given CE vendors the opportunity to reach and engage consumers directly; the Cloud is perceived as the answer to just about everything; and the battle for who owns the living room is raging more than ever - it’s pretty tough out there right now for the STB, right ?
Peter Simpson, VP product marketing at Pace, suggests that the set-top box will continue to play a major role in pay-TV.
network to guarantee a high quality of service – a complete package that users are prepared to pay for! There has been intense debate in the past two-to-three years that Over-The-Top (OTT) services such as Netflix, Hulu, YouTube et al will turn pay-TV operators into dumb pipes. The reality however, points to a different future as payTV operators continue to embrace OTT delivery to enhance their core pay-TV offering by wrapping On-Demand, Catch-up, Start-over and Apps into a seamless and personal experience – all delivered via their STB and accessible on multiple screens. In the UK - Sky, Virgin, BT and TalkTalk’s recent growth and ARPU lift has been driven by the addition of OTT models into their service – the users have all their TV in one place and it’s easy to view – it’s all about convergence and convenience.
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bandwidth. Who will John call when the football game he is watching starts to freeze, block and break up? Will he still be prepared to pay £5 per month for a poor viewing experience ?
games consoles, smartphones, tablets ... now Smart TVs) the STB/gateway plays a key role in joining the dots up and ensuring that content is delivered reliably and securely to all devices within
As we discuss below, it may not be that clear cut with many variables making it a high risk decision for pay-TV operators to remove the STB from the equati ???()U???????????????E???????M??????)A???QX?????????????????????????????????????????????????????e??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????e????????Q???MQ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????!???e???????????)??????????????U,??????????????M????QX??????????????????????%?????A?????A????????????????????????)???????????M????QX???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????M???M?????????????
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