Market Insights
Conditional access systems are content protection solutions that receive devices such as set-top boxes. These solutions are designed to restrict unauthorized access to television, internet, and digital radio broadcast services. Based on solution type, the market is segmented into smartcard-based and cardless CAS. The most significant factor fueling the market growth is the increasing digital television penetration coupled with the mandatory digital television transition. Additionally, the market is anticipated to register strong growth in the coming years due to the rising penetration of internet-based subscription services. As a result, the conditional access systems market stood at US$ 2,364.7 Mn in 2014. The market is projected to expand at a CAGR of 10.5% during the forecast period 2015 to 2022.
1.1 Report Description
Purpose of the Report
The purpose of this strategic research study titled “Global Conditional Access Systems Market- Growth, Share, Opportunities and Competitive Analysis, 2015 – 2022” is to offer industry investors, company executives, and industry participants in-depth insights to enable them to make informed strategic decisions related to the opportunities in the global conditional access systems industry.
Target Audience
- Industry Investors
- Conditional Access Systems Vendors
- Set-top Boxes Vendors
- Service Providers
Overall, the research study provides:
- A holistic view of the global conditional access systems market.
- Offering market size and estimates for the period from 2015 to 2022.
- Keeping in mind the factors mentioned above.
Based on solution types, the global conditional access systems market is segmented into the following categories
- Smartcard-based CAS
- Card-less (Software-based) CAS
As of 2014, the global conditional access systems market is dominated by the smartcard-based CAS segment. The segment contributed over 63% of the total revenue generated by the conditional access systems market in 2014. However, the smartcard-based CAS segment is expected to lose its share of the cardless CAS segment. Although smartcard-based CAS has prolonged its existence in the market, future growth is expected to be hampered by costs and low security. Smartcard-based CAS are relatively easy to clone and thus can be misused for service theft.
Additionally, since the CAS solution is embedded in the smartcard, this adds to the extra cost for the overall system. Due to these factors, the cardless CAS segment is expected to register the highest growth in the coming years. Cardless CAS, also referred to as software-based CAS, offers excellent security without any need for additional hardware. This makes cardless CAS preferable to smartcard-based CAS. Cardless CAS is popular in North America and Europe, with a penetration of nearly fifty percent in the regions. With growing digitization, the cardless CAS is expected to rapidly become popular in the region. The demand for cardless solutions is expected to be majorly driven by promising markets such as India and China.
Application Segmentation Analysis
The conditional access systems market is segmented, based on its applications, into the following:
- Digital Television
- Internet Services
- Digital Radio
The global conditional access systems market, as of 2014, is dominated by the digital television segment. The segment accounted for a market share, in terms of revenue, of over seventy percent of the total market revenue worldwide. The dominance of the digital television segment is primarily backed by the growing adoption of digital televisions globally. Additionally, due to the ongoing digital television transition worldwide, the demand for conditional access systems is expected to remain strong in the coming years. The market growth is also driven by advanced television services such as high definition (HD) and ultra-high definition (UHD) services. This requires upgrading conditional access solutions for reliable content security, continuing the demand for CAS solutions. Thus, the digital television segment is expected to retain its dominant position in the market throughout the forecast period.
The Internet services segment is estimated to emerge as the highest growing segment worldwide in the market. Penetration of internet services has grown exponentially over the past few years, resulting in the emergence of various subscription-based services. In addition, the internet service segment is also driven by the increasing adoption of internet protocol television (IPTV) across the globe. Thus, the segment is expected to register the highest growth in the CAS market during the forecast period.
Animation: Conditional Access Systems
Televisions are among the most integral appliances of households worldwide. With further advancements in the television sector, most households worldwide have adopted pay-television services based on subscriptions. However, a major concern for television service providers is to avoid piracy of their services. Due to rampant piracy of paid television services, the service providers face significant revenue losses, resulting in higher service charges. Similarly, with the increasing penetration of internet services, the instances of internet service theft too have increased dramatically in the past few years. Thus, regulating and protecting the services effectively becomes necessary to restrict unauthorized access and piracy.
Conditional access systems are content protection solutions that restrict unauthorized users from accessing any service. Conditional access systems are popular in applications such as television, digital radio, and internet-based subscription services. The solutions work on scrambling data before broadcasting to the public network. A conditional access system is installed at the receiving end where the receiver (e.g., set-top box) unscrambles the data related to the subscribed service. The encryption of broadcasting signals is primarily based upon the standards set by the Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) Project and Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC). The conditional access solution vendor provides the receiving equipment and conditional access software to the broadcasting company. The broadcaster then integrates the conditional access solutions into their equipment.
The most significant advantage of conditional access systems is restricting unauthorized subscribers. This helps service providers reduce their revenue losses, thereby managing the networks in a better way. The conditional access systems market is broadly segmented, based upon the solution, into the following types:
- Smartcard-based CAS
- Card-less CAS
Traditionally, conditional access solutions were embedded on smartcards installed at the receiving end. However, these conditional access solutions will likely phase out due to security issues. Smartcards are easy to clone and hence can be misused easily. Modern conditional access solutions are software-based and can be downloaded directly to the receiving equipment. The most significant benefit of cardless CAS (software-based) is high security against service theft. Additionally, using software-based solutions reduces the additional costs required for smartcards. Due to these factors, software-based conditional access systems are expected to prevail shortly.
The adoption of conditional access systems dates back to the mid-nineties when pay television services started becoming popular. Countries like the U.S., France, Japan, Germany, and the U.K. were among the first adopters of conditional access systems. Currently, conditional access systems are largely used in pay television sets for regulating the broadcasting service. Due to less penetration of internet-based services and digital radio in most nations worldwide, the market growth in these sectors is currently low. Nevertheless, conditional access to digital radio and internet services is popular in the U.S., Japan, Australia, South Korea, and some Europe countries. Further, the demand for conditional access systems is expected to be high in regions such as Africa, Latin America, and some Asia countries where the digital transition of television is in progress.
Geography Segmentation Analysis
The global conditional access systems market is segmented into geographical regions, as per the following regions and countries.
- North America
- Europe
- Germany
- France
- Italy
- U.K.
- Russia
- Rest of Europe
- Asia-Pacific
- India
- China
- Japan
- Rest of Asia-Pacific
- Latin America
- Brazil
- Mexico
- Rest of Latin America
- Middle East and Africa
- GCC Countries
- South Africa
- Rest of Middle East and Africa
In 2014, the global conditional access systems market was dominated by North America, with a market share of over one-third of the total market revenue. The market is majorly governed by the U.S., with a market share, in terms of revenue, of more than 80% of the total region. The U.S. is among the first countries to achieve digital television transition. Additionally, the country has a significantly high penetration of high definition (HD) television services making the conditional access solutions costlier. Further, due to strong internet services penetration, North America is expected to retain its dominant position in the market throughout the forecast period.
The Asia Pacific is expected to emerge as the most promising market for conditional access systems in the coming years. Countries such as India and China have a large consumer base for digital television resulting in a substantial requirement for conditional access systems. Furthermore, with the increasing penetration of digital television and internet services, the region is expected to emerge as the highest-growing market for conditional access systems in the coming years.
