[Satellite Today 07-16-08] The Chinese satellite market will grow at a rate of 5.3 percent per year, reaching $375 million by 2013, according to a study released July 15 by Northern Sky Research (NSR).
    Companies will face regulatory and market hurdles in the market, but "China is on the verge of finally initiating a brand new industry, legal [direct-to-home] satellite TV services, in the coming months," Patrick French, lead author of the study, “China Satellite Markets: Assessment of Commercial Satellite Transponder Demand in China, Hong Kong and Macau.”
    NSR predicts that the Chinese direct-to-home market will develop much differently than those in Western countries or markets such as India, and should reach nearly 3 million subscribers as of 2013.
    "There is no doubt that with its enormous population and ethnic diversity, skyrocketing cell phone and pay-television subscribership, and proactive government efforts to bridge the digital divide in the country, China could offer the most potential for new satellite transponder demand in all of Asia," French said. "Yet NSR’s assessment is that the challenges of turning this potential into a reality that shows up on the bottom lines of the region’s satellite operators are very substantial, and the actual rate of growth projected for the Chinese market, while respectable, certainly falls short of what it could be."