Satellite-Commissioned Studies: Positive Signs or Positive Spin?

[Satellite TODAY 03-29-13] Many satellite companies commission their own independent consumer market studies throughout the year. Often, the primary purpose of these studies is to provide operators, service providers and manufacturers with valuable business intelligence. But every once in a while, these reports serve a secondary purpose, with data being pushed out via press releases. This year’s commissioned reports, however, gave satellite companies plenty of reason to boast, particularly two studies commissioned by FSS operator SES and aerospace firm Astrium.

    According to a February SES study titled, “Astra TV Monitor 2012,” satellite broadcast television continued to expand its household reach in Germany during 2012, with approximately 18 million households receiving their TV directly from a satellite source by the end of the year, representing a 3 percent increase, or 524,000 households, from the end of 2011.

    SES said the results were driven by continued strong consumer demand for satellite TV’s large program offer and quality of service, especially in high definition (HD) and that the growth of satellite TV’s German market presence comes despite the nation’s analog satellite signal switch-off in April 2012.

    SES Managing Director of Astra Deutschland Wolfgang Elsaesser stated that the study reveals an understanding among German video subscribers that satellite is the most attractive reception mode and TV infrastructure available in the national market.

    “Our Astra TV Monitor shows that the interest of households in HD remains strong and will further drive the demand for hardware and content in the highest broadcasting quality,” Elsaesser said in the report. “We will continue to invest in growth and technological innovation, and HD will continue to drive our success and that of the hardware industry, retailers and broadcasters.”

    The study’s data shows that satellite further developed its position as the infrastructure of choice for TV reception in Germany, serving 47 percent of all TV households in 2012. German cable providers reached a share of 44 percent, which marks a decline by 570,000 households, or 3 percent, compared to the previous year for a total of16.7 million households. Satellite digital TV services reached a record level of 59 percent of all digital TV households, versus German cable’s 30 percent market share in 2012. German HD TV continued to be the main growth driver of satellite’s technical household reach. According to the study, approximately 44 percent of all satellite households, or 7.9 million, watched HD at the end of the year, nearly two million more than in 2012. Cable grew its HD presence by 1.27 million to 4.53 million households, reaching 27 percent of all cable households. In total, the number of HD households in Germany increased from 10.0 million in 2011 to 13.1 million in 2012.

    Elsaesser said that the gap of 1.4 million households compared to cable exceeded SES’ most optimistic forecasts. “The excellent performance of HD plus reflects very well the high consumer demand for premium quality television and consumers’ willingness to pay a supplement for a value-adding service,” he said. 

    Meanwhile, Astrium Services unearthed some promising maritime consumer data with its “Crew Communications 2012 Survey,” published that same month. According to Astrium’s results, a growing number of seafarers see on-board Wi-Fi connectivity as essential in order to use their own smartphones, tablets and laptops aboard ships, with social media, especially Facebook, highlighted as one of the most popular web destinations for crews.

    Most importantly to service providers, Astrium’s survey also revealed that many seafarers are prepared to pay for connectivity. The study, which was commissioned by Astrium Services to fill the market gap in up-to-date data on crew communications requirements and supported by consultants Stark Moore McMillan, questioned 960 Filipino seafarers – 12 percent of them officers, with the remaining 88 percent comprised of general crew – during the third and fourth quarters of 2012.

    Astrium Services Senior Product Manager of Crew Communications Tilmann Michalke said that the main objective of the survey was to establish a clear picture of current crew communication requirements, the level of access to communications, what crew paid for these services and how they paid for them.

    “Many shipping companies face staff retention issues and communication services can represent an attractive incentive to crew members,” Michalke said in the study. “The popularity of using one’s own device shows that owners investing in vessel-wide broadband connectivity and corresponding Wi-Fi connections to provide either free or low-cost Internet access will experience return in terms of crew recruitment and retention. This is especially important considering the survey whitepaper states that the lack of qualified officers continues to grow, from a deficit of 10,000 to 13,000 in the period between 2005 and 2010.”

    In exploring the availability of communications for crew, 68 percent of seafarers confirmed in the survey that they can now use some form of communication service most or all of the time when at sea. Almost all crew confirmed that they are at least occasionally able to make voice calls using a vessel’s satcoms system.

    Astrium has a number of solutions available to the maritime connectivity market. The company’s survey aimed to show a clear emergence of on-board hybrid networks using both VSAT and MSS services, empowering owners to provide cost-effective connectivity required to support changing communication usage patterns. Web compression and filtering solutions were also suggested as a method to help control communication costs and make crew communications affordable.

    Astrium Services’ Head of Maritime Services Tore Morten Olsen noted that shipping companies that are able to offer strong crew welfare packages are better positioned to recruit from the limited pool of talent and increase staff loyalty.

    “It’s clear to see that seafarers are keen to be able to communicate with friends and family when they are at sea, just as easily as they could at home. Offering this capability supports any operator’s crew welfare strategy,” said Morten Olsen. “This new data will assist us in developing innovative new solutions that will directly meet future user requirements. Likewise, with a stronger understanding of what drives the user, we can support operators through the on-going development of our core connectivity services and value added services.”