Kagan, a media research group within the TMT offering of S&P Global Market Intelligence, has published the Multiscreen Service Delivery Platforms & TV Middleware report, written by contributing analyst Steven Hawley, Principal Analyst & Consultant of tvstrategies.
Two complementary categories of software have been instrumental in service creation, delivery and consumption for pay TV operators: for service creation and management, TV service delivery platforms (TV SDPs) and to render and present the user experience in TV set-top boxes, TV middleware.
TV SDPs are the brains of many connected TV deployments that mix traditional and hybrid STBs, Android TV and streaming devices in a multiscreen service.
Because pay TV — and therefore, sales of new STBs — is declining in advanced regions, one might expect the associated middleware opportunity to follow suit. However, TV service delivery platforms and middleware upgrades into existing STBs could represent nearly a third of a multi-billion global opportunity in 2021, offsetting the sales decline of new TV CPE.