Satellite Manufacturing
While revenues in the satellite manufacturing sector have fell, the number of satellites ordered held steady, according to the "State of Industry Report." Global satellite manufacturing revenues in 2008 were $10.5 billion, compared to $11.6 billion in 2007. The decline "can be attributed largely to the reduction in the number of satellites launched," which fell from 48 in 2007 to 21 in 2008.
The U.S. manufacturing industry has been particularly hard hit in 2008, as revenues declined nearly 40 percent from $4.8 billion in 2007 to $3.1 billion in 2008. The U.S. share of manufacturing revenues dropped from 41 percent in 2007 to 29 percent in 2008. Global manufacturing revenues from commercial customers grew to $5.2 billion in 2009, as the proportion of manufacturing revenues from commercial customers compared to government and military customers rose from about 33 percent in 2007 to nearly 50 percent in 2008.
The number of new commercial geosynchronous orbit satellites placed in 2008 was 21, the same as in 2007. The U.S. share of orders held steady at about 52 percent, while the share of European manufacturers slipped from 43 percent to 33 percent. Those orders went to Chinese (China Great Wall Industry Corp.), Japanese (Mitsubishi Electronic Corp.) and Russian (JSC-ISS) manufacturers, which saw their share of the market jump from 5 percent to 14 percent.
HDTV
High-definition TV (HDTV) continues to be seen as a major growth driver for satellite operators around the globe. With direct-to-home (DTH) operators facing more competition than ever from cable and telcos in the TV space, having strong HD content is seen as a way of staying a step ahead of the competition.
The number of HDTV channels worldwide grew by almost 170 percent between the end of 2006 and May. There are a total of 1,492 HD channels broadcasts around the globe, compared to 556 HD channels at the end of 2006. About 60 percent of those channels serve the North American market, according to the SIA study. The remaining channels primarily serve the European and Asia-Pacific markets.
IMS Research, says its it expects total worldwide HDTV households to reach 255 million by the end of 2013, with DTH to be the market leader with 38.1 percent of these households. Cable is expected to follow second with 26.5 percent of households and IPTV third with 12.3 percent.
French research company Idate is forecasting that in Europe’s six biggest markets: France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom, there will be more than 100 HD channels being broadcast by the end of 2009.
Idate also expects really strong growth over the next four years, and by the end of 2013, it expects there will be close to 250 HD channels being broadcast, including pan-European channels being distributed in these six largest markets, according to "Which Network to Deliver HDTV in Europe."
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