DALLAS — New research from Parks Associates, a market research and consulting company specializing in emerging consumer technology products and services, finds that more than 46 million households worldwide will subscribe to a 4K UHD (very high bandwidth requirements) pay-TV service by 2018. Pay-TV providers will deploy this service as a differentiator, especially among younger consumers who are more likely to use new pay-TV features, such as TV Everywhere and cloud DVR, but also have slightly lower subscription rates for pay-TV services. In the U.S., 82 percent of consumers 18 to 22 have a pay-TV subscription, compared to 87 percent among older consumers.
“To enjoy the true benefits of 4K, three things need to be present: the television, the content, and a way to get the content to the TV,” said Brett Sappington, director of research at Parks Associates. “4K can deliver an enhanced experience to viewers, but these three factors are not yet aligned. Getting 4K content to the TV remains a key challenge as is the pace of production of 4K content.”
Sappington leads Parks Associates’ services research team, including digital media, OTT, cloud media, video gaming, and technical support services. Brett is an expert in worldwide television and broadband services. He focuses on the activities and trends among operators and the market forces affecting their businesses.
